Lady Stardust
by Moons88
Summary: This is my take on what happens after the season finale (3x16) and the episode 'Lady Stardust'. Annie and Auggie have a heart-to-heart when the story begins. I'm hoping to keep this up, so please keep reading and post comments! Eyal features in it too. (Now updated! Chapter 30 - On Safe Ground)
1. Chapter 1 - A Heart to Heart

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_This is set after the season finale (3x16) and my take on what happens next (though it starts off with a trip down memory lane). I'm a huge fan of Annie-Auggie, so for those of you who aren't might want to read another FanFiction._

* * *

**Chapter 1  
**_A Heart to heart._

_"Annie, hey, it's me...Auggie. You know, they guy that gave you a Corvette. Since I have your undivided attention, I'd like to share my thoughts about how Billy Collins' poetry is overrated and derivative. If you agree with this, say absolutely nothing...Yeah, the thing about this whole witty banter deal is it kinda takes two people. Otherwise it's just a guy by himself being incredibly clever...I miss you, Annie. I have for a long time. Things have been different between us since Barcelona, and it's all my fault. I've been, uh...closed off and distant, and...I can't tell you how sorry I am for that. I don't know if you can hear me, but I need you to wake up. I know you're not a traitor and right now you're the only one who can help me help you. I need you, Annie. I never need anyone. But I need you."_

_"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"_  
_"I clean up nicely don't I?"_  
_"I'm not talking about the clothes. [kiss]. You should probably get upstairs."_  
_"The song's not over yet. We could dance a little while longer."_  
_"There's nothing I'd like more, but you and I both know this isn't our song. We'll dance again, Walker, but not until the music's right."_  
_"Until then..."_

_"I need you to come home. There are things that I need to say to you face-to-face."_

_"Maybe she realized she likes you too."  
"Too?"_

_"You got quiet all of a sudden."  
"I know, I just...I want this to work."  
"It will. I had a Sergeant in basic training. Mean son of a bitch, but he taught us one thing that really stuck with me. Going into battle is like blowing out a birthday candle."  
"Okay, that doesn't help me, because I have no idea what it means."  
"It means, don't overthink it. Put all the noisy thoughts out of your head. Close your eyes. Think about one positive thing that you want. Or one thing you love."_

_"We shove off in two minutes. If she isn't here, we meet up at the old church in Delft. She knows the protocol."  
"But you wouldn't leave her."  
"I'd _never _leave her."_

_"Do you see any tulips?"_  
_"Not this time of year."_  
_"I'm gonna pretend there are tulips and windmills. One of the benefits of being blind. I can imagine the way things look any way I like."_  
_"People too?"_  
_"Of course. One of these days, I'll describe you to yourself. It's a hell of a parlor game."_  
_"That's a plan."_  
_"This plan, on the other hand, was risky. I wasn't sure you were gonna make it. I didn't like that feeling much."_  
_"You were worried about me?"_  
"Yeah, _I _was _worried."_

_"Then you didn't follow your Sergeant's advice."  
"My Sergeant's advice didn't work. Because the person I was worried about and the positive thing I was thinking about are the same."_

_"Hey. You wanna grab a drink when we get back?"  
"Sure. A beer at Allen's sounds good."  
"I was thinking someplace nicer."  
"Someplace nicer?"  
"Friday night at eight?"  
"Sure."  
_

* * *

_ "Walker! You home?"  
"You know we're not grabbing that beer until Friday, right?"  
"Yeah, yeah. You know, ordinarily this is the moment where I'd make some quip about how I got on the wrong bus or taken the wrong turn at Albuquerque."  
"What's going on?"  
"I've been thinking about today. About our lives. There's nothing certain about what we do. There's nothing certain for people like us. Now, there's a conversation I've been hoping to have with you for a while now, but I've never found the right time to have it."  
"What are you saying?"  
"Timing's everything. I wanted to talk now, Annie."_

_"What do you want to talk about?"_

_She could see how he inched a little closer and before she could do or say anything, his hand was running up her side; his touch tender. She closed her eyes, just savoring the moment. Everything felt right, it was all falling into place and when their lips met, she thought about her dream when she had been unconscious, who they had shared a kiss there but in real life it was better than she could have ever imagined.  
"I'm glad we're having this talk."_

He smiled - and he looked genuinely happy - and then they were kissing again, deeply and more intense this time. He was embracing her and she reciprocated, hugging him closer to her. She did know how much time passed when they finally surfaced for air. He was stroking her cheek. She realized that she'd wanted this, for so long. She flashed back to Danielle's words about her caring for Auggie. Back then she had barely acknowledge those feelings for real, she had thought about bringing it up though, but it hadn't turned out exactly as she'd hoped. But now, she recalled the dream she'd had while unconscious, she should've realized what it had meant, but things had been so crazy since then that she hadn't gotten an opportunity.

"Are you okay," he whispered as he leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah, more than okay..." she replied.

"I guess that I just thought that action might speak louder than words," he said carefully.

"I know what you mean." she thought as she didn't know how to explain all the thoughts that were currently running through her head.

"I do still want to talk though," he let out a sigh, stroking back a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear, "oh, Annie...there's so much I want to say."

"We have time," she said.

She carefully guided him over to the little space by the window and they both sat down. They sat in silence for a while, then he grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his. The only thing she could think was that she wanted to stay in this moment forever.

"Talk to me," she whispered, squeezing his hand in encouragement.

"I don't really know where to begin, but...things just spiraled out of hand so quickly."

"It's okay, I'm here. Just talk to me Auggie."

"First, I wanted to say that I'm sorry, I know that things changed between us in Barcelona. I know that I snapped at you and that was wrong, and then...what you said at the hotel room -"

"Oh, Auggie, _I'm _the one who's sorry about that; it wasn't any of my business."

"No, yeah well I mean, it got me thinking. After I left you at the airport, I went over to the ticket counter to buy my ticket to Eritrea. I admit, I was a little irritated, I could sense your hesitation when you saw the ring and considering what you said at the hotel, well it got me thinking...the whole plane ride down I just felt confused and then angry..."

She swallowed, she knew that she'd overstepped back then, but something had felt so wrong, it wasn't that she'd had feelings for Auggie back then, but the thought of him being with someone else, talking about someone else that way and wondering whether he was good enough, it had made her angry. Who was this Parker who had him question himself, he was perfect.

"I guess that when I arrived in Eritrea, after having spent the whole plane ride thinking about what you'd said and also about you...well, I just wanted to put you behind me and I shrugged it all off and went to propose."

He stopped and turned towards her and even though she knew that he wasn't able to see her, it felt as though he was really seeing her.  
"I'm sorry..." she repeated.

"Don't be." he said firmly, "I have to admit though, I was really happy when she said yes, I wasn't sure she was going to. But then when everything unraveled in Eritrea and I had to tell her about me being CIA, it felt wrong somehow, I could sense how she reacted and it wasn't good. But I just put it behind me, ignoring it and when we got back I acted as though things were normal. And then you reassigned with Lena...why did you?"

She took a deep breath before she answered.

"I don't know, things were kind of crazy for me too I guess...it felt like I'd lost you, things with Joan didn't feel all that good, and I just wanted a change and Lena, well she made me feel really good about everything. Plus, you got reassigned too."

"I know..." he felt bad that he'd made her feel that way, but to be honest, he hadn't cared all that much, he'd put up a wall towards Annie, like he wanted to push her away, if only a little bit, in order to keep things with Parker in check. He should've seen the warning signs! "Then, the inevitable happened, in a way I wasn't that surprised but it still hurt like hell when she left me...she just rushed out and I couldn't see, I couldn't stop her..." he paused.

Her heart constricted as she could picture him broken hearted and helpless, she inched herself closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. It must have been hard for him and she hadn't even been there to support him. What kind of friend had she been?

"Then I got into that bar fight at Allen's..."

Oh, that explained things; she hadn't really had much time when all of that had happened. She had been knee-deep in the whole Simon mission. She cringed as she remembered it. Now, it all felt like time wasted, well almost all of it.

"We both got back under Joan's purview and you got assigned the mission of bringing Simon in," he said it carefully, not wanting to upset her, he could feel her tense for a second but continued when she seemed okay. "Then things just ended so weirdly, I was upset..."

"I'm sorry for what I did, breaking the audio connection."

"Well, honestly...I think that's when I started to realize that it bothered me, bothered me that you liked him..."

She looked at him in surprise, really? That's why he'd been so distant?

"Then you know how I felt when you told me about Parker and the engagement," she said, deciding that he had the right to know that her feelings hadn't surfaced tonight. In fact, she had a lot of things to tell him too.

"Really?" he looked surprised; she could see his eyebrows shooting up.

"Yeah...she had you doubt you were good enough, when I knew that you were kinda...well, perfect."

"That I am," he replied and she chuckled as she nudged him with her shoulder. Leave it up to Auggie to be witty in a moment like this.

"Then you were shot..." his face turned stone serious and she herself felt a little chill.

"That's when I really realized that I...felt like this."

She recalled her unconscious dream, he hadn't been the only one realizing feelings that night, she just hadn't really reflected upon it, until now.

"I sat by you and I just wanted you to wake up...actually a nurse told me to talk to you," he looked towards her, and she looked back at him, knowing that whatever he was about to say, he wanted her attention "I told you Annie...that I needed you even though I don't ever need anyone. Or didn't…I need you, Annie."

She felt her heart constrict again, but this time it was out of happiness, she could feel tears well up in her eyes, she knew that this was special. Auggie wasn't the one for flaunting affectionate confessions like this. She carefully placed her hands on either side of his face, pulling him closer and then their lips were on each other's yet again.

"I actually had, some sort of dream then too...about you," she confessed.

"Oh?" he looked incredulous, as if he didn't believe her, but curiosity soon flickered across his face.

"Yeah, we were on some sort of mission at this fancy hotel, you were wearing a tux and I had this ball gown. We went into a ball room and we danced. In the middle of the room, we stopped and we kissed. I wanted to keep dancing, but you said that I had to go upstairs, but that we'd dance again, when the timing was right."

For once she was a little happy that he couldn't see her, she could feel herself blushing.  
He just smiled at her.

"When you were in Russia, I could feel you slip away, I was scared that you were going of the rail and I just wanted you to come back to me. I needed to say all those things. I had thought about telling you after the accident, but I was confused and unsure, I didn't know what you felt and all the things with Simon, I wanted to give you space. But when you were there, I just knew that I had to tell you."

"I think that phone call's what made me keep my head in the game, you've saved me so many times Auggie and I'm grateful for what you pulled off with Eyal."

"My pleasure," he reassured, "but um, can I ask...how do _you _feel? Well, obviously, you didn't run screaming after I kissed you tonight, but do you..." he didn't know how to proceed and maybe - if he was going to be totally honest - he was a little worried about her answer.

"I feel...like this is right, I don't really know what else to say just yet." she said, hoping not to disappoint him, there were just so many thoughts, she might need a moment, later, alone.

"That's okay," he said putting an arm around her, holding her.

"But actually...I've thought about you, before. Not really, like this maybe, but I've had thoughts that I'd wanted to explore."

"Yeah, how come you've never told me?" he couldn't really believe it, she'd thought about him before? It felt good knowing, it felt really good.

"It was Danielle who made me realize it then. We were on that mission in Stockholm and we'd just talked, and she told me that I cared about you, like really care about you. At first I was, well a little defensive but I didn't deny it either. When I asked how she could tell, she said that my voice changed whenever I was on the phone with you." she smiled as she recalled the memory. When she looked at him, he was smiling brightly too.

"Have you any idea how happy that makes me?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I think I do," because that's exactly how I feel, she thought." And I did want to tell you and I thought about saying something, or at least ask you to have a beer with me, that time that I found you in your Corvette."

"Really?" he shrugged; he remembered how he'd announced him going to Eritrea. Had he actually had a chance back then? Could that have prevented Annie getting shot and the whole Russia episode? "I wasn't really myself then either, I had just gotten so bad news about this medical trial, I thought that maybe there was a slight chance of me getting my sight back but well..." he stopped, not really sure how to end the sentence.

"Oh Auggie, I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"I know, and it's fine, really."

They spent a long time, him with his arms wrapped around her and her just leaning on him, feeling like things were finally settling.

Hours might have passed, she wasn't sure, but somehow the silence didn't bother her.

"You look very sharp by the way," she said, realizing that she hadn't told him yet, but she'd thought it the moment he stepped into the guest house. Though the word sharp, had come to mind, so had a few other ones, like handsome and even sexy.

He chuckled.

"Thank you."

She yawned. She didn't know what time it was, but it had been a long day and this evening well, it had brought with it a few surprises, to say the least. But she felt content, and lighter somehow. She smiled.

"You tired?" he asked.

She nodded, but didn't want him to leave, but on the other hand she felt like she might need some time to think all of this through. But if she let him go, maybe things would be weird tomorrow? She felt confused.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No, not really...but."

"You need some time?"

She looked to him, searching for his eyes in the dark; she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. She did care for him, a lot! She was sure of that, but just a little while to herself.

"It's okay Annie," he reassured as he stepped up.

She stood up too, his arms were around her and she relaxed, he didn't seem disappointed. He kissed her on the top of her head. She took his hand carefully and walked him over to the door.

"Thank you," he said at the door, "it feels good now and take your time, alright, no pressure."

"Thank _you._" she was still holding his hand, "I just need tonight, okay?"

"Of course, Annie." he said tenderly, "I'm here for you whenever you're ready."

"See you tomorrow?"

"Yes, see you tomorrow."

They embraced one last time, as he went out towards the street, she was about to call after him, wondering whether he was going to wait for a cab, in that case he could wait inside. But even though she sort of felt empty now that he wasn't there, she knew that she needed to be alone. She walked back into her room and laid down on the bed.

She knew that she really felt something for Auggie, she had maybe for a long time and Simon wasn't really an issue, he'd be with her, but as a memory of something that was already starting to feel distant.

She tensed when she remembered the earlier part of tonight, the file that Henry Wilcox had shown her, could she really do it now? Did she really want to? Would she tell Auggie? She stopped, she was getting ahead of herself, and she didn't care about Henry right now. She closed her eyes and remembered all the time that Auggie had been there for her, how much she'd appreciated his help throughout the years, he was her constant and she knew how she could always count on him. Her phone buzzed on the night stand, she grabbed it.

**Auggie A.  
**_01:37 AM_  
I hope tonight wasn't too much. I know  
we didn't cover everything tonight, I  
didn't ask you about Danielle. But I  
meant what I said; I'm here whenever  
you're ready Annie. As your friend or  
whatever you want me to be.

Yours/A.

She smiled, it felt so good reading all of that and she knew, that something that could feel this good, it couldn't be bad, could it?


	2. Chapter 2 - A Time for Luck

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/****N: **_Thank you so much for your support, love to all of you, I mean it! And for those of you who commented, it means the world to me, keep commenting and I'll keep writing, deal? ;)_

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Chapter 2  
_A Time for Luck._

He pushed open the slide door to his apartment, he chuckled to himself, he knew that if anyone saw him right now, they'd probably thing he was crazy - he couldn't stop grinning. The night had turned out better than he could have ever hoped for. It was as if though a burden had fallen from his shoulders, he had finally told her, he'd done what he could.

When lying on his back in bed, he was briefly reminded of Parker. It was nice to have it all out in the open that Annie knew everything that had happened and he had been completely honest. He had been happy when Parker had said yes to his proposal, but he had known - even on that beach - that something was off. Of course, back then he'd chalked it up to nerves, never really reflecting upon it. And sure he'd been hurt by the way that she'd left things but he also got past it quite fast, considering. He remembered Parker's appearance on his doorstep, only a few days ago and while that had felt awkward and yes a little frustrating, it had gone by pretty smoothly and he'd manage to make it clear that he didn't want them to see each other again and he thought that the message had been received. He sighed in relief and let go off of Parker completely and his thoughts drifted back to Annie and their night, he loosed his tie and smiled. He was quite impressed with himself, when he had started to get ready to head over to Annie's earlier that night he hadn't been all that nervous at least not about telling her how he felt, rather her reaction. At least she hadn't pushed him away and while he still wasn't sure about how she felt about him, or tonight, he felt genuinely happy. He sat up and started to get undressed; he had to go into work tomorrow morning.

Before he fell asleep he thought about the incredible sensation of touching her, he hadn't felt anything like that before and he'd been with his share of women, but this was something else entirely. In fact, he knew what was different this time around, he really loved her. But he knew that broaching that subject to early wouldn't go over that well, he needed to give her space. Plus - he couldn't completely let go of the thought, nagging at the back of his head - what if she still had feelings for Simon...or maybe Eyal? He had heard their intimate banter, him calling her "Neshama" and the way that Eyal had spoken about Annie before she came running towards their boat in Luxembourg, assuring him that he'd never leave Annie either. He took a deep breath, shrugging it off, so what if she had some unresolved things, some baggage, who hadn't? All-in-all tonight had been a win and he was going to savor it. On the plane from Luxembourg, she had agreed to that date after all, that had to count for something and if tonight were any indication, things were certainly heading in the right direction.

* * *

She woke up a good half hour before her alarm was set to go off, she stretched out in bed and smiled as she recalled the previous night. She knew that she'd made a decision; she just hoped that everything would work out the way she wanted it to. She deserved a break, didn't she? As she went out of bed, she suddenly felt nervous, she'd never felt nervous going into Langley before, she shrugged. _Don't act like a high school girl, Walker, she thought to herself_. She stepped into the bathroom; surely talking to Auggie would be just like before, if not better, she reasoned.

It was almost seven when she was done it the bathroom, applying a light make-up had taken longer than it usually did and even though she didn't want to admit why, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She hurried back into her bedroom and opened up the closet, grabbed a black pantsuit and opted for a light, mint green blouse and her favorite pair of Louboutins. She looked at the watched and decided to get coffee at Langley; she went out the front door and headed for her car. Never in her life had she felt this mix of nervousness, happiness and excitement about going into work, not even when she had exciting ops to look forward to.

She felt fidgety as she was driving on the highway; she decided to put on some music maybe that would make her relax. And while it did distract her, she started thinking about actual work, what was she supposed to do when she got in? Things with Joan were kind of left hanging and she was unsure what actions awaited her. She knew that she'd been in kind of a frenzy with Khalid; it was just that...she didn't want to say it out loud, but after the whole thing with Simon had gone down, she had felt so desperately out of control. Like everyone she'd had closed to her had just vanished and she had been left alone and betrayed. Simon was gone and Lena...she didn't even want to finish that thought. She knew that she had to patch things up with Joan; she just hoped that it would even work and she explicitly hoped not to be sent back to Bluebonnet. As she felt her heart raced, she tried yet again to let the music take her someplace else and for a good two minutes it actually worked.

The whole Agency was buzzing as usually, when she stepped inside the doors into the huge lobby. It felt incredulous that everything was still the same, after everything that had unraveled these last couple of days and herself felt so different, like a completely different person. She took a moment to just stand still, amidst all the buzzing around her. She inhaled, closed her eyes and as her thoughts moved onto Auggie she smiled and felt more relaxed. She opened her eyes and walked towards the in-house Starbucks line.

When she was almost at the cashier she heard her name being called, she glanced back and caught a glimpse of Reva. She smiled, they hadn't talked for quite a while now, but surely she knew about things. Reva's tight hug was proof of that.  
"Hey, Annie...how are you?" she asked, sincerity in her voice as she took a step back, eyeing her as if making sure that she wasn't missing any limbs.

"I'm fine, really, but thank you." she offered, not really sure what to say.

Reva had momentarily stepped in for Auggie a while back and while the two women hadn't gotten off to the best start, they had shared quite an adventurous field-op together and gotten closer - being held hostage would do that to you. She briefly thought of Eyal, and all the times he'd saved her, before she asked Reva how she was. They ended up talking for a while and before they headed their separate ways, they'd made plans to have coffee together, outside of work. Even though they hadn't spent time alone before, she was sure that it'd be fine, worst case scenario they could always discuss work-related things. She smiled, as she navigated her way towards the elevators, one coffee cup in each hand. It was nice to talk to a female friend, she could really use that especially now that Danielle had moved to California, plus another friend within the Agency was never a bad thing.

Things seemed, in contrast to the previous days, quite calm when she stepped onto the office floor. She headed straight for the tech-op area and she could feel her pulse quickening at the sight of him behind his desk, headphones on and sharing things with Barber at the other side of the room. She carefully tapped the bottom of the glass door with her shoe as she couldn't open it without her hands. Barber immediately stood up and headed towards the door.

"Hi Annie," Barber said smiling brightly towards her.

"Hi Eric," she replied and smiled back at him. Barber was a sweet guy who cared a great deal about Auggie and they were a great team.

"Walker," Auggie said and though virtually untraceable she thought she could hear a hint of flirtatiousness to his voice. He swiveled his chair in her direction and smiled brightly.

"Hi Auggie," she said, she had to bite down on her lip in order not to giggle, the whole thing just felt so absurd, even Barber seemed to sense that something was going on, but he kept staring at his screen, pressing keys and seeming to mind his own business. She just wanted to laugh at the whole thing. She went over to his desk and put his coffee down.

"Coffee at your 2 o'clock" she informed him.

"Oh, thank you -", he was about to say something else, but was interrupted as Joan came by.

"Annie, my office please." she said firmly and walked away.

She took a deep breath, all of a sudden the funny feeling she'd felt seconds earlier had vanished. How had her boss sounded? Did she sound firmer than usual?

"You'll be fine, Walker" Auggie said before she stepped out and he quickly brushed his fingers over one of her hands that were just hanging by her side. She appreciated his support.

"Thank you," she said as she headed out towards Joan's office

* * *

"Sit down," Joan said her voice sounding normal, her body language normal.  
Annie walked over to the couch and sat down; she was just about to say something when Joan started.

"Annie," she begun, locking eyes with her, "I know that we've had our ups and downs lately and while I really don't appreciate you undermining my authority, going behind my back -"

Annie swallowed hard, she sounded upset, but she knew that she deserved this.

"I can't have that, I need to be able to trust my Agents," she continued. "But, I know that I'm partly to blame, I wasn't myself and well...I'm sorry." she said, glancing up.

Annie felt confused, was she looking for approval, what was she supposed to answer?

"I'm sorry too Joan," she replied after a moment of silence, "I wasn't myself either...after Simon, well I just needed to focus on something else so when Khalid was served on a platter - albeit a faulty one at first - well, I just had to act on it..."

"I understand that things haven't been easy for you lately Annie, and having said that I don't like my Agents undermining me, you've been a very valuable Agent Annie and I'm proud of your work. You've been through things these last couple of days that some people here haven't even gotten close to experience." she paused as if she was searching for the right words. "Annie, I have to ask you something and knowing you...well, please take a moment before you answer, okay?"

She had an uneasy feeling about this, what was this? Oh, please not Bluebonnet prayed silently.

"Do you need some time off?"

Huh? The question caught her by surprise, she honestly hadn't thought about it and while she absolutely wanted to work and not sit at home all day, especially now that Danielle wasn't around...she had felt drained; it had just been so much lately.

"No," she decided, "I need this, work is...well, what I need."

Joan nodded as if though she understood exactly.

"Well, I still need you to have at least one session with an agency therapist; it'll clear you for duty."

"Of course," she answered as she accepted a little card with a date and time on it. She wasn't much for therapists; she'd lived through all kinds already when she and Danielle were younger. She brushed the thought aside and stood up to shake Joan's hand. She knew that she was lucky; this meeting could have gone so much worse.

"I've put some desk work on your desk, just go through it, go to the meeting and then we'll see, okay?"

"Thank you Joan," she said sincerely.

"I'm here if you ever need to talk Annie," she said, sounding genuine.

Annie was a little surprised and a little confused, as she stepped out of Joan's office, she had been prepared for something that was as far from this as possible.

"How did it go?"

She smiled as she heard Auggie's voice behind her.

"You just happened to stand there?"

"What, a blind man can't stretch his legs?" he quipped. She nudged him a little, smirking at him.

"It went well, she wasn't angry at all. In fact, she seemed very understanding. She asked me if I needed some time off, but I said that I didn't and now all I have to do is sit down with an agency therapist, in order to be cleared for duty."

"We've all been there, some more than others. They're pretty good though and you have the advantage of not being an angry, newly blind person, you'll do fine." he said and smiled as he stroked a hand alongside her arm. She could feel goose bumps forming on her arm. It was very distracting.

"I guess I'm finally getting some luck," she said, feeling genuinely happy, and then she lightly brushed her fingertip across his cheek before leaving him standing there, heading towards her desk. She could hear him shrug behind her and she smiled to herself. _Two person can play at that game Anderson, she thought_. Now it was his turn to feel momentarily distracted.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Stud

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Lots of love to all of you out there. Let me know what you think of this episode, I just wrote it and I hope you'll like it. Who do you think Annie researched? Do you think that she'll manage to keep it all under wraps? Comment and let me know! _

* * *

**Chapter 3**  
_The stud_

He took a deep breath.

"Okay, I want you to tell me what you see, alright?" Auggie said, trying to sound calm. He told Barber to listen in; he would need all the help he could get now.

"Um, I can't see much at all, the rooms are all empty up here and I see no way out, not even to the roof." the voice came back over his audio system.

"Listen, I want you to try and go back down, the extraction point is not far and I think you can make it, alright? Just tell me what you see all the time and I'll try and guide you?"

"Yeah...alright, I'm heading down the stairs..." the whisper came, barely audible."I think that the floor below is clear; is there more than one exit?"

"Yes, you should be able to use an old maintenance exit, if you turn into the left corridor and then walk it to the end, to take a right."

"It's someone down there, I can't go in there," she whispered after a few seconds.

"Right, well then turn back and try to descend yet another floor."

Just a few seconds went by, but to Auggie it felt like hours, situations like these were never fun and even though being a handler was very different than being in the field, it was still very stressful and at times it made you feel completely useless, all the while knowing that someone's life might depend on you.

"Okay, I'm here, now what?"

"Go down the hall -"

"August, someone's coming," she said, sounding alarmed.

"Alright, head into room 603." he replied quickly.

He prayed that she'd make it in time, it was hard to hear what was happening just by listening but he thought that he heard a door close carefully.

"Lindsay, what's happening?"

It was still silent, but he could hear faint crackle, so the feed was still going, they were still in contact. He shifted in his chair, feeling uncomfortable.

"I'm okay," her voice was more leveled this time. He exhaled, not even aware that he'd held his breath.

"Okay, head towards the window in the west corner, can you open it?"

"Yes."

"If you turn east, you'll see a ledge, correct?"

"Yes, but it's very thin..."

"I know, but at the end of that ledge you'll be able to get to the fire escape, I know it's the tricky way but this old building has been abandoned for years and well, the layout isn't that efficient." he said, knowing that he wasn't offering her a very good out, but at least it was something even if it was risky.

"Oh, my god..." came her voice, she was panicking.

He hoped that her alarm was due to the balance act he'd asked her to perform or the height, but then he heard harsh voices and banging sounds coming through, they were closing in on her. Damn it! He knew that the task at hand for Lindsay was hard enough, without being chased, he was also aware that those men that were chasing her were heavily armed, if she went out on that ledge...but he didn't know what else she could do, staying and trying to fight them were out of the question. He sat in silent, not wanting to disturb her, whatever it was that she was doing. He hoped that it'd take a while for the men to bust open the door, but he knew that it was only a matter of seconds...

"What now?"

His eyebrows shot up, she actually made it? And that fast? He scrambled into action telling her what she was supposed to do when she hit ground level.

"Be careful down there though," he said cautioning. "There might be more of them there."

"I see the extraction point!" she exclaimed a few minutes later.

He knew that she wasn't safe just yet, but he could feel his pulse slowing down towards its normal pace.

A few minutes later all was good; Auggie pulled off his headphones and let them rest around his neck. He breathed out. He made a mental note of telling Lindsay that she'd done a hell of a job today, next time he talked to her and also thought that he should let Joan know of her effort. His thoughts then drifted away to Annie, she was usually the one putting him in pressing situations like this and he couldn't help but smile. But his expression changed when he thought about all those times when she'd been out in the field in situations like this, he knew that he'd always worried about her a little more than everyone else and that he'd always put in a little more effort when it came to Annie. He couldn't help but wonder how their missions would be now, if they actually got together...he cringed at the thought, if he'd cared about her before, then what would happen now? Would he be able to do it?

His train of thought was interrupted when Barber said "that was close"; his voice even sounded a little winded.

"Yes, it was," he agreed.

He touched a button on his watch and the mechanical voice informed him that it was past 8 PM, the extraction had taken longer than expected.

"I'm gonna go grab some water, you want some?" Barber inquired, "I still have some stuff to do before I clear out".

"No, thanks" he replied and leaned back in his chair.

Annie immediately appeared in his mind when he closed his eyes. He hadn't even had the chance to talk to her since after she'd had that meeting with Joan. He hoped that she was doing alright, he knew that Annie was a fighter, but anyone would feel a bit knocked over after going through what she had. He recalled that Friday was coming up and he had all intentions of going out on that date with her, even though he'd stopped by her house in a kind of impromptu move and ended up kissing her - he smiled at the memory - that hadn't been the plan.  
He wondered if Annie was still in the office, maybe she'd already left. He got out of the chair and started to turn things down, he knew that Lindsay was safe, and so there was no reason for him to stay any longer.

He stepped out on the office floor and walked towards Annie's desk, he could smell her before reaching her and a big grin spread on his face before he could stop it.

"Hey, home come you're still here? Enjoying the rapports that much?" he said teasing her.

"Funny," she said, teasing back. "No it's just that there was some glitch with the system and I couldn't start properly until lunch...you heading out?"

"I thought about it, I should've been done hours ago. Are you heading out?"

"I still have some things to do, but don't let me keep you."

He felt a little puzzled, he'd hoped that she'd joined him, but now he'd already told her he was going so he couldn't really stay. But he didn't really want to leave her. God, he had to learn how to deal with all of these emotions now that they were running free and apparently rampant, he thought to himself.

"Do you wanna grab a beer, I thought about swinging by Allen's, the extraction I just had to guide through was kinda rough," he offered without divulging too much of the mission.

"Sure, see you there in maybe half an hour?" she asked.

"Good, I'll have a beer waiting for you." he smiled and turned towards the elevators.

* * *

Annie sighed; she watched as Auggie reached the doors and went out into the corridor. She looked around the office floor was almost deserted, which was great. Once again she'd found herself happy that Auggie couldn't see her, she was sure that he would've been able to see through her then. The fact was that she'd lied to him, there hadn't been a glitch, the last couple of hours she'd done a little research on her own, she glanced down at her purse, making sure that the folder that Henry Wilcox had given her was hidden out of sight. She'd been nervous to do her research at work, but then she didn't have the computer power or the right access at home, so she had no choice. She combed a hair through her hair, she knew that what she'd seen in that folder was well above her clearance which meant that she'd have to be very careful with her research, and she didn't want anyone to know what she was up to.

She remembered the time when she'd tried to research off-the-book stuff on the computer before, when that horrible "beep" had sounded all over the office when she'd been denied access to it. Fortunately she knew better now. This was really testing her spy skills. She glanced around before she pulled up one of the databases and wrote in a name, it took a few seconds but then it was all there in front of her, she held her breath as she scrolled through the information.

Drained of energy, she turned off the computer, she couldn't really grasp what she'd read...could it be? She yawned and looked at her watch; she was a little late to meet Auggie so she hurried out of the office. When outside, she felt better, the fresh air did her good and the thought of spending some time with Auggie again was exhilarating, she hoped to that she'd be able to push the folder and her research aside for the night.

"Hey there, I was beginning to think that you'd gotten lost on your way over," Auggie said as she approached the table. She smiled, it still amazed her that he could do that, distinguish her from everyone else.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she replied as she sat down across the table from him. She could feel herself relax as she took him in, he was really good looking, and she hadn't really allowed herself to think of him that way before. He was quite sexy even, she tried to stifle the giggle, but to no avail.

"What are you giggling about?" Auggie requested.

"I just...I haven't really allowed myself to look at you, for real...before." she said, still a little overcome by her realization.

"Is it that bad?" he asked mockingly.

"No, not at all." she smiled, "quite the opposite," she added.

"Oh, really Walker?" he said teasingly.

She decided to ignore him and took a sip of her beer.

"Hi, Auggie!"

They were interrupted by a tall red-haired woman that approached their table. She looked animated and somewhat glamorous. She found herself feeling very self-conscious, the light make-up she'd put on this morning didn't even come close to this and by now she probably looked quite disheveled.

"Hi, Vanessa" Auggie greeted cheerily.

Annie knew that Auggie had quite the reputation and especially around Allen's and Annie knew that he'd picked up a lot of women in this place and up until now it had never bothered her, but all of a sudden she felt irritated...which surprised her.

"Do you wanna come by later?"

She could see that Auggie started to look uncomfortable and it pleased her somewhat.

"Eh, I don't think so, but thank you," he said.

Vanessa smiled with her perfect teeth and they exchanged a few more pleasantries before she retreated.

"I'm so sorry about that," Auggie said as soon as she was gone.

"No, it is fine," she said not sure if she really meant it. "I know how popular you are here," she added.

"Yeah...but, I mean, it's not like I'm looking anymore," he said, shyly.

She could feel herself blush, he wasn't? She could tell he was serious though. He reached for her hand and grabbed it.

"We don't need to cover all this tonight," she reassured.

"Okay," he said sounding a little relieved "then tell me, how come Danielle moved out?"

She told him the whole story about the catering and Michael's new job; it felt good to be able to talk to someone about it. She knew that maybe she should've offered something equally intimate after Auggie had told her that wasn't looking for women anymore...but she just couldn't find the words. She liked him; she cared about him, more than a friend. But it felt quite scary, instead diving into the whole thing about Danielle felt much safer. But she knew that she had to let him know soon. She also knew that her reaction to Vanessa was an indication that her mind knew exactly how she felt about Auggie, even if she hadn't grasped it completely yet.


	4. Chapter 4 - Therapeutic

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Okay, here goes - chapter 4. I hope that you don't think it's all going too fast, the updates I mean. If so, then let me know. It's difficult juggling so many different timezones and I want it to be good for all of you. Also, let me know what you think about this chapter :). Love to all of you reviewers/followers/those who have added my Fic as a favorite. It means a lot!_

* * *

**Chapter 4  
**_Therapeutic_

She'd gotten home pretty late last night; she rubbed her eyes as she sat up in bed. Her head was aching slightly; maybe that third beer had been a bad idea. As she made her way towards the bathroom – hoping that a shower would make her feel better – she thought back to the night before. Talking about Danielle had been great and Auggie had been both supportive and understanding, then Auggie had told her about his return to Iraq and what he'd done. She had been really amazed and touched when she'd heard about the episode at Doctor Street, him giving that little boy his Purple Heart medal, it was so sweet. Even though the night had been fun and she had really missed sitting down with Auggie like that, on her way home she couldn't really shake the whole Vanessa thing even though it made her feel ridiculous. She had known from the start, when they first met, that he was a ladies guy, a stud. She had just been bothered about it and she knew exactly why…she just didn't know what to do with it.

And the fact that Auggie had told her that he was done looking for women, what had he meant by that? Had that been his way of telling her that he wanted a serious relationship?

She felt even more disoriented after the shower, so she decided that a strong cup of coffee might cure what ailed her, she headed towards the kitchen.

As she sat by the counter, silence around her, she thought back to her own relationships. There had been Jake in junior high, which hadn't been all that serious and they'd never had sex. Basically it had been one of those relationships that gave him status, like she was a price to be paraded around. Then in college, she'd met Tony, a great guy and they had gone out for a year before she'd caught him in bed with another woman…and then, there was Ben Mercer, she didn't even know what they had shared really and then, Simon…she realized that her track record wasn't the best. And of course she'd had a couple of dating experience too...she thought about Auggie's history, or what she knew of it anyway, he'd never seemed interested in a serious relationship until all of a sudden he'd told her about proposing to Parker at the hotel room in Barcelona, what had changed? And had he been ready for it? _Okay, Annie, you're getting ahead of yourself_she reasoned, Auggie wasn't proposing, all he wanted to do was date her for all she knew and maybe that would be okay. She knew that she really liked him; it wasn't love, or was it? But it was something great and real, that she was sure of.

* * *

"Walker!" she heard his voice coming up from behind her as she approached the elevators. She turned around and could feel herself grin.

"Morning Auggie," she offered.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, smirking at her as they waited for the elevators together.

"Good. You?" she reciprocated, not sure what to say. How could she possibly explain everything to him?

"Very good, it's Friday tomorrow," he said matter-of-factly.

She looked at him, searching for a clue.

"Okay…?" she tried.

"Our date?" he said, suddenly looking a little uncertain, "or maybe you're bailing on me?"

"No, of course not," she said reassuringly, "I just wasn't sure if that was still on, considering you dropping by my place."

"I know I did that, I just couldn't…wait," he said sounding shy, "but I meant what I said Annie, I want to talk more properly about…everything."

The elevators slid open and they stepped onto the DPD floor where there was a lot of movement.

"Sounds good," she said feeling butterflies forming in her stomach.

"Eight still good?" he asked.

"Yes, absolutely," she quickly calculated when she needed to head back home in order to be able to change out of her work-clothes and get ready.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked, as he was holding the door into the office space open.

"No, I have that therapist appointment today," she said.

"Oh, right." He stepped towards her, "you'll do fine Walker. You always do."

"Thank you," she said as she realized how nice it was to hear him say that.

* * *

Auggie settled down at his desk, starting up his equipment, considering that the place was quiet he guessed that Barber would come in later; after all he'd had a long day yesterday. He brushed a hand through his hair as he waited; he needed to check that Lindsay had confirmed her landing at _Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport._

"Auggie!" he could hear Joan stepping into tech-op.

"Hi," he greeted.

"How did it go with Agent Hanson last night?" she asked.

"It went well in the end, I'm glad Barber's on my team, it's always good to have a pair of eyes," he said and smiled.

"Good, what's the status now?"

"I was just about to check if she confirmed her landing at Reagan."

"Great, when she gets in tell her to come see me, I need a report soon."

"Absolutely," before she headed out he remembered something, "And Joan?"

"Yes Auggie?" she turned in the door opening.

"Lindsay did a hell of a job." He told her the main details and he could hear the appreciation in Joan's voice as she queried about further information. As Joan left he put on his headphones and started with an encryption that he'd set aside for way too long, but more pressing matters always had a way to surface whenever he was about to start.

* * *

Annie was sitting in a little waiting room; it felt kind of odd to see art on the walls here, considering Langley wasn't famous for its interior design. All this to make people feel safer, and all it did was to point out the oddity of it all.

"Anne Walker," a golden blond man stepped opened the black wooden door in front of her.

Her eyes shot up, the man standing in front of him wasn't anything like what she'd expected a therapist at Langley to look like. And he didn't look anything like the therapists she remembered from her past. She followed him into his office; it was nice, sober but also a little personal. One of the walls were adorned with books and picture frames portraying him in different countries. He motioned for her to take a seat in one of the couches, as she settled in, he sat down opposite her.

"So," he begun, "Anne, are you comfortable, do you want something to drink?"

"Um, no, thank you." She said feeling puzzled; this didn't feel like a normal session. "And please call me Annie," she stated.

"Of course," he said respectfully. "Annie, I've talked with your superior, Joan Campbell and she also showed me your file and let me just tell you, you're a fighter Annie."

"Oh, thank you..." she said, still feeling puzzled by his friendliness.

"Considering what you've gone through, I'm surprised we haven't met until now," he said with a smile. "I thought we'd start with Lena Smith, if that's okay with you?"

She swallowed hard, but knew that she had to do this, if not because she needed to talk about it, so in order to get cleared for duty.

"Well, I started working for Lena after everything happened to Jai," she cringed at the memory, "I got reassigned and at first I didn't like it but then…I enjoyed my freedom." She started, uncertain were to really begin.

"What do you mean when you say freedom?" he asked, his blue eyes piercing into hers.

"Well, I felt more autonomous, like she actually listened." He nodded for her to continue. "I felt independent and it was great. My first mission regarded a Russian born Englishman called Simon Fischer." As she told the story, it was like she was telling someone else's and it was now that she realized just what she'd actually been through and it was quite overwhelming to say the least.

"So, when Simon slit the throat of his handler, how did you feel?" he asked.

"It felt weird…but I guess that's when I realized that I liked him, for real and that he might actually feel the same way."

As she kept telling her story to him, she felt that it was a nice feeling to unload properly; she hadn't told anyone all these details before. She had to admit that this man was very comforting and something about him made her feel safe.

"So you killed Lena?"

The bluntness of his statement kind of took her by surprise, but in a way she liked that he told it as it was.

"Yes…" she said, uncertain of the reaction this might cause. But none came; he just smiled and nodded for her to continue. She told him about the Russian prison and their treatment of her there. He seemed so unfazed, but she knew that he probably heard a lot of war stories being told in here and immediately she felt stupid for being there, what did she have to recover from really? It wasn't like she'd turned blind like Auggie.

"So Eyal Levin, Mossad agent, came to your rescue?"

"Yes, my co-worker and handler, August Anderson helped with the extraction and they had a protocol and everything for communicating." She smiled as she thought about the whole episode. She then went on to talk about Joan and the whole Khalid debacle.

"Alright Annie, we've done a lot of progress. I'm proud of you."

"Um…am I done," she queried carefully, she didn't want to seem too rude.

"Well, I have one last question…about Jai Wilcox?"

At the sound of his name, she cringed, even though they hadn't been all that close she'd liked him a lot and she knew that he'd trusted her and whatever he'd wanted to tell her that day at Vesta…"what about him?" she said, sounding a little harsher than she'd intended.

"How do you feel about it?" he said calmly, ignoring her harshness.

"How do I feel about it? Like crap. Honestly, all of this…that we've talked about, I feel crap about it all and I know that I won't be able to forget it anytime soon. But I also know that I don't want to forget it, it'll make me a better agent if I acknowledge it all. I'll learn from my mistakes and I honestly think that going back into the field will do me good."

He nodded, quiet at first. "Actually Annie, that was a good answer, it shows maturity. A lot of people come in here expecting just to be cleared and try to ignore all their pain. But you're not doing that. I don't see why you can't go back into the field soon, _but _I'd like you to keep in touch so that I can monitor your progress as we go, alright? Why don't we start by seeing each other every other week, to start with?

"Okay," she said, feeling relieved, she was going back into the field and so what if that meant that she had to return to this office once every other week! Besides, this man was nice and she had to admit that it had actually done her good to talk about all of this.

"I'll let Joan know about our arrangement but it's still up to her what kind of missions you'll get sent on," he smiled brightly as he rose from his armchair.

"Of course," she said smiling back as they shook hands.

"It was nice to meet you Annie Walker; I've actually heard your name in these halls."

She could feel herself blush and nodded before she headed out feeling refreshed. She thought about the upcoming date and felt really glad about it for the first time, the thought of Auggie's previous love interests were gone.

* * *

"August?" said a female voice from the glass doors.

He turned towards the right direction and smiled. He could hear Barber stand up to greet the woman who just entered.

"How did you _do _that?" Barber asked incredulously.

"You mean my stunt outside the window?" Auggie could hear the smirk in her voice. "Actually I'm a former gymnast, I competed when I was younger," she clarified.

Auggie whistled and smiled in the direction of her voice.

"Hi, Lindsay, welcome home," he said greeting her.

"Thanks, and guys thank you so much for your help last night."

"It's our job," Auggie said with a wink.

"Yeah, I know but I usually don't end up in situations like that and you two handled it like pros! Which I guess you are" she chuckled, but you could clearly make out the admiration that had laced her sentence.

"We on the other hand end up in situations like that more frequently than you might think," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, especially when Walker's out in the field," Barber added.

Even though Auggie felt a little defensive for a second, he knew that Eric was right, Annie usually ended up in situations like that, but it wasn't because she was stupid, rather the opposite and because she was stubborn and cared about people, it was one of the traits he liked…actually loved about her.

"Well, I'm gonna leave you guys to it." Lindsay said as she turned her heels.

"By the way, Lindsay, Joan stopped by earlier and asked you to swing by your office and I told her about your gallant efforts last night."

"Oh, August, you shouldn't have!" she said a giggle slipping out.

"Don't thank me yet, she needs your report too," he added. Another giggle from her and she was gone.

"She's really hot," Barber said as soon as the door closed.

"Great Barber," he said with a scoff.

"What? Do I need to remind you of the people you've slept with in this department Auggie?" Barber countered.

"Fair enough," he said and laughed. But then his thoughts turned to Annie. Fortunately the people he'd slept with within the department were women with whom he'd ended things on mutual terms so hopefully episodes like the one with Vanessa would never happen here. He felt a little ashamed about his past all of sudden, something he'd never felt before, he just didn't want Annie to get repulsed by his past because he wanted to be with her and no one else. He hoped that things were going well for her at the therapist's office.

"Barber, will you let me know when Annie gets back?"

"Sure thing," Barber mumbled, typing away at his keyboard at the same time, not looking up.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Date

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Thank you guys for commenting/reviewing and all that. I love you for it. I'm sorry that I haven't uploaded anything until now, it's just that this chapter felt more difficult to write considering that I wanted to make it perfect. It's Auggie and Annie's Date Night!_

Also I got a comment from _**sr10**__ wondering why Annie didn't tell her therapist about Lena shooting her first. But Annie did tell him, a lot that I chose to not write. Instead I focused on some main points. So I wrote things like "as Annie talked", to convey that things were said that you as readers don't get to "hear" or read about. I did that because I felt that it might have been a little boring otherwise. I mean, we all know what happened, what we don't know are Annie's feelings about it. But I think you'll see more of Annie's sessions further on._

I hope you're going to enjoy this chapter, considering that I spent a lot of time on it, I'd love it if you'd comment and let me know what you thought about it. So here goes.

* * *

**Chapter 5  
**_the Date_

"You have somewhere to be?" Barber asked from his desk. Auggie could hear how he swiveled his chair around and was now presumably staring at him. He tried to mask his feelings; he didn't want to divulge anything just yet, after all he and Annie had a lot to work out before he could tell anyone about what was going on. Even though Eric and he had gotten closer lately, now wasn't the time to have a heart-to-heart with him.

"Sorry," he said. He realized that he must've pressed the button on his watch a few times now and of course Barber had been able to hear the mechanical voice telling the time. "Well, it is Friday after all," he said brightly, hoping to cover it all up. The truth was that tonight was _the night,_ he was going to take Annie out properly and he was both expectant and nervous, and it didn't help that time seemed to stand still.

"That's true," Barber said. "You have any special plans?"

"Not really, knocking down a few cold ones maybe," he offered. "Do you have any plans?" he asked.

"Nah, we'll see." He was quiet for a while, almost as if he was contemplating something and then he continued, "I talked to Lindsay last night actually and well, she's still in D.C. and not heading out until a few more days."

"Oh, really?" he said smiling. He was happy to notice the slight change in Barber's voice, this wasn't just about sex, he could tell. He'd be happy for him if they got together, Lindsay was a great woman judging by what he knew about her, not that he knew much.

Another half an hour went by before he decided to stretch his legs, maybe he'd run into Annie, today she seemed to be on her feet more and not just sitting by her desk so he wasn't sure if she was even in the office at the moment. He was happy though, since she seemed to be doing fine, even though she was stuck behind a desk. She'd told him that the therapist appointment had gone over well and that she'd probably be called into the field soon enough. He was happy for her but couldn't help but feel a little hesitant, he'd worry about her; not that he hadn't before, but now it would surely be magnified. As he got closer to Annie's desk he could hear Annie's voice and he could feel his pulse quickening just by the realization that she was in his vicinity. There was another voice there too though; he smiled as he recognized Reva's voice.

"Hi ladies," he said shooting a smile in their direction.

"Hi Auggie," Reva said. She finished telling Annie about something that seemed to concern a movie of some sort.

"Sorry, I have to bounce," Reva said after about a minute, "but we'll make sure to have a movie night soon," she added.

"I'll look forward to it," Annie replied.

He could hear the women embracing each other.

"Bye Auggie," Reva said, tapping him lightly on his shoulder as she passed by him.

"Bye," he said. He was happy to hear that Annie seemed to have gotten closer with Reva; he remembered their not-so-great start.

"Hi," he said when Reva was gone, trying to conceal the many emotions that was running through him. Firstly, he didn't want to scare her off and secondly, there were people around, so he wanted to be discreet.

"Hi," she replied, sounding happy. He could hear her rising out of her chair, she stepped closer to him. One of her hands stroked the side of his arm and he loved the feelings it conjured up, he had to restrain the urge to hug here right there on the spot, he breathing in the scent of her. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yes. More than okay," he stated.

"I was just heading out, or I actually should have been gone ten minutes ago but Reva came by to ask about a movie that we talked about at lunch the other day."

"You're heading out now?" he asked in disbelief, Annie wasn't known to be the one to duck out of the office early, rather the opposite.

"I have to get ready," she said and he smiled as he could hear that she felt embarrassed.

"You realize that I won't be able to see your efforts anyway, right?" he said teasingly. She just sneered in response.

"That's such a guy-response" she said as she grabbed her stuff and headed towards the elevators."

"Okay, granted am I a guy," he said as he followed her out, his hand around her upper arm letting her guide him, "but…" he stopped in his step and made sure that she was turned towards him before he continued. "You're perfect to me, you don't need to do anything for my benefit, alright Walker?" the sentence was out before he could stop it. He tried to assess her reaction, but she remained quiet. Just before he was about to break the silence she said "Thanks Auggie," and then he could hear the elevators opening up.

"That was really sweet," she said, hugging him quickly before getting on.

She chuckled.

"Save some of the compliments for tonight though," she said before the doors closed.

He chuckled too.

"See you at eight Walker."

* * *

She parked her car in the driveway, the butterflies made their presence known as she fumbled with her keys, trying to open up the guest house. She thought about what Auggie had told her, he might not understand why she felt the need to get ready hours in advance, but he _did_ knowhow to make a woman feel good about herself. She smiled.

It wasn't until she was rummaging through her wardrobe, after a nice long shower, that the thought hit her, _he knew how to make a woman feel good about herself, _what if this was a standard procedure of his? Saying something sweet like that, taking the woman in question out on a date...she shrugged, no, she couldn't think like that and she knew that she was being unfair. He seemed to be really serious about her; in fact _she_ was the one not volunteering any feelings for him. Plus, she knew Auggie - at least she hoped that she did - even if he might have had a lot of sexual partners or whatever, this was different she knew that it was. Had he wanted to just sleep with her, he would've tried earlier. She returned her attention to her wardrobe with a sigh, she suddenly felt a surge of loneliness course through her, and it was at times like these that she wished Danielle could be there. Had she been there Annie knew she'd be as giddy as she was, she smiled at the thought. She knew that Danielle liked Auggie, ever since he'd stepped in as a guide at the Smithsonian, when her niece's class had been promised a guided tour by her, she smiled at the memory._ He was always saving her she_ _thought._ She glanced at the watch; no she wouldn't have time to call Danielle, though she made a mental note of calling her later.

A half hour later she was standing in front of the mirror, viewing herself in profile and full-frontal. Did she look okay? She'd found the dress in the back of the closet, to be honest she'd forgotten it was there. It was a tight, fit dress in a dark magenta color, she remember buying it on sale with Danielle a few years back. The way the straps were designed she was showing some skin without having a cleavage, which she felt was appropriate tonight and around the waist was a matching belt with an iron-colored clasp in the middle, it looked fancy enough. She picked out a pair of black heels, Louboutins of course, these were pretty much like the ones she wore to work but with slightly higher heels. The ensemble looked good enough together, she looked at the watch it was 7:23 PM, she still had time. She went into the bathroom and put on some light make-up and chose a lipstick that went together nicely with her dress, it was a slightly lighter color and more pinkish. She brushed through her hair and decided to keep it down; she had a feeling that Auggie may like it that way, not that he could see it.  
She was reminded of what he'd told her in Luxembourg.

_"I'm gonna pretend there are tulips and windmills. One of the benefits of being blind. I can imagine the way things look any way I like."  
"People too?"  
"Of course. One of these days, I'll describe you to yourself. It's a hell of a parlor game."  
"That's a plan."_

She smiled at the memory, she remember that she'd reacted to his openness on the boat and that she had wanted to reciprocate somehow, but that things had felt a little weird, especially with Eyal in close vicinity and then any thoughts of reciprocating had been put on hold when Joan and Arthur had called about Khalid. She brushed away those thoughts and returned to the now, she thought that if the moment was right, she'd ask Auggie how he saw her, she had to admit that she was curious. She went over to the little closet by the front door and looked for a coat or jacket to wear.

"Walker, are you decent?"

She smiled upon hearing his voice, the butterflies came back, but she wasn't sure they'd ever left.

"I'll be out in a second," she shouted back and quickly decided on a black, simple trench coat. She walked towards the door, but the coat remained in her hand when stopped in her tracks as she saw him standing there. She knew that he'd worn a suit the last time too, but something was different now, or maybe she was just taking it all in now. She'd been a little distracted the last time. "Wow," was all she could manage.

"Thank you," he said, "but it's kinda unfair that you get to see how I look when I can't reciprocate."

_She stepped closer to him and they shared a hug. He even smelled good, must be cologne or something. She inhaled and wanted to stay like that forever. She could feel his hands tracing the length of her upper body, her shoulders, her arms..._

"This dress seems nice though," he said in a soft tone. "And I like it when you wear your hair down Walker," the last sentence almost a whisper.

"I thought you might like that," she whispered back, wanting to savor this moment. It felt so easy, effortless and most of all right. Compliments from a blind guy, she reasoned, were if anything better than coming from a seeing one, or maybe it was because they were coming from Auggie.

"I have a car waiting," he said as he motioned towards the driveway.

He had his cane this time, so that she wouldn't have to guide him, they made it to the car together and as they settled in Auggie gave the driver an address. She recognized the street, it was here in Georgetown, but she couldn't recall a restaurant there.

"So," Auggie said breaking the silence, "I got that this dress of yours makes you show some skin and that it's tight, what else am I missing?" he asked with a grin towards her.

She chuckled and told him the color of the dress, the trench coat and the shoes.

"Okay, sounds very elegant. I'm sure you look lovely," he said. "But, since I'm a guy, to me it sounds as if it can't be that hard to put on a dress - especially one that's quite short, a pair of shoes without laces and a trench coat, so how long did it take you?" he said teasingly.

She nudged him and tried to pretend to be offended, but burst out laughing a second later which made him laugh too.

"A woman never tells," she tried but he didn't seem to budge, "okay, maybe a little over an hour and that's including a long hot shower and make-up", she said.

He ignored her notion about the hot shower; he didn't want to get distracted. "I won't even pretend to understand that," he said jokingly, "but the important thing is that you feel good."

"I do, but it has nothing to do with what I wearing," she said and smiled as she took his hand in hers, "and how do you know that my dress is short?". She knew that he was right though, it was pretty short, at least shorter than the things she usual wore to work considering it went just above her knees.

"I can tell by the rustling of the fabric," he said with a smirk. She just shook his head and leaned her head on his shoulder.

A few minutes later they arrived at a little bistro, if you didn't know it was there, you'd probably miss it. Annie helped Auggie out of the car and he pulled out his cane.

"This is one of my favorites," Auggie explained, "I know it doesn't look like much, but you're gonna love it, I promise."

"I'm sure I will," she said as she let him show the way.

* * *

She was scanning the menu, everything sounded delicious and the theme seemed to be Italian, which she loved. It was a very cozy and nice restaurant and they were practically alone, she couldn't believe a place like this even existed. And how come it was virtually empty on a Friday? Auggie really had a knack for picking out date spots she thought.

"So, what do you recommend?" she asked.

"I would go with the pesto risotto, it's to die for -" he was interrupted by a waiter that approached the table.

"Auggie?" said the man. He was a quite short and a fit in perfectly in an Italian-chef-stereotype as he was adorned with a mustache and a round belly. But his accent wasn't that pronounced.

"Louie!" Auggie said happily and the two of them shook hands.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, my friend, how is everything going?"

"It's going good" he said as he smiled "How's the wife and kids?" he offered.

"They're great, thanks Auggie. And who is this lovely lady?" he inquired nodding towards Annie.

"Louie, this is Annie. Annie, this is Louie he owns the restaurant."

"Oh, hi. Everything here sounds delicious!" she offered and smiled at him.

"Wow, you are a very pretty, Auggie's lucky!" he said and smiled back. "So what will it be pretty lady?"

She blushed. She then gave him her order and Auggie placed his and within seconds they were alone again.

"He's right you know," Auggie said carefully, "that I'm lucky."

"Thank you...I am too," she replied.

"So..." she said, not really knowing what to say. "How do you know this restaurant so well?" she asked.

"I used to come here a lot when I first moved to DC, I lived in the area then and considering the hours at the DPD I usually didn't have much energy to cook for myself at nights so I came here. But after my accident, I didn't come here as frequently but when I finally managed to swallow my pride Louie was there for me, both him and his wife helped me and even made sure to deliver me foods during days when I didn't feel like going out in public." Auggie explained.

"That's so sweet" she said, happy to know that Auggie had had help from other people outside of the agency as well.

"Yeah, I owe Louie a lot," he said.

The entrees came and they sat in silence and even though it wasn't uncomfortable she wanted to try and get a conversation going and she thought she might as well put it out there. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?" she asked carefully, glancing up at him.

Auggie placed his napkin in his lap, he seemed nervous; he kept fidgeting with his fingers.

"Well...I mean, I told you the basic parts last time. And while this is all very new for you, I've felt things for you Annie, for quite a while actually I guess it just took me time to come to terms with it all. I guess it wasn't until you were shot, that I acknowledged all those feelings. But honestly, I think they've always been there." He took a sip of wine before he continued "Actually I think I realized that you were special from the first time that we met, you weren't like other women that I'd ever talked to and I enjoyed your company from the start."

She smiled.

"I felt the same way about you, when you first introduced yourself at Langley, I thought you were very charming and funny," she said, deciding that she should share some too.

He smiled brightly and then continued.

"I think the first time that I sort of fantasized or toyed with the idea…well, about you and me, was when you were poisoned."

She recalled that episode, it had been horrible and she'd been so scared. But finding Auggie lying across those chairs in the waiting room, it had made her heart swell and she'd really appreciated it.

"That was the first time I hugged you," she said. "I remember how scared I was…and how happy I was to see you. You've always been there for me Auggie," she said.

"And I'll always be, as long as you let me." He stated. "But then a lot of things happened and well and I thought that whatever I'd felt might have been just a 'in-the-heat-of-the-moment thing'. But the idea came back when I helped you at the farm. Do you remember, you were in Roy Gaskin's office?"

"Yeah," she chuckled, "that's when you called me sugarplum."

He smiled at the memory, it had been an impromptu move but it had ended well and it had been kind of fun.

"Well, I knew that I cared about you then, more than I was willing to admit...I don't think I would've done exactly that kinda of move to save you otherwise. But at the time you were also seeing that doctor guy..."

"Right..." Annie remembered Scott Weiss that had taken care of Chloe – her niece – at the hospital. She'd almost forgotten about him.

They were starting on their main course when she recalled her earlier thought.

"Auggie, can I ask something?"

"Of course," he said.

"In Luxembourg," she said shyly, "you said that one of the benefits of being blind was that you could imagine what thinks looked like, anyway you wanted. Do you remember?"

"Yes," he said with a smirk, realizing where this was heading. "And I told you I'd describe you to yourself?" he finished.

"Yes," she answered, feeling excited, this was going to be interesting.

"Well, Annie Walker. Let me start by telling you that I know that you _look _beautiful." he said, sounding sure of himself.

"I don't wanna argue," she said sounding a little hesitant, and she didn't want to come off rude "but how could you know that?"

"First off, don't you remember what I told you on the first day we met?

"I'm afraid you have to be more specific," she said trying her best to remember.

"I was showing you the Starbucks and Conrad Sheehan came by?"

"Oh, right…"

Since she still seemed at a loss, he continued.

"That night at Allen's I explained to you that you don't actually have to see a woman to tell if she's hot, you just listen to the way other guys talk about her." He smirked.

He could hear her chuckle.

"And if I remember correctly, you took me as an example and Sheehan came by and proved it to you." She finished.

"Exactly, and I was right." He said flirtatiousness in his voice. "Sheehan confirmed what I already knew. And Sheehan wasn't the only one confirming it for me either," he continued.

"Really?" she said surprised, who else talked about her?

"Well Jai more than confirmed it and of course Ben Mercer, it would seem like you have quite a way to get the agencies men to fall for you," he said smiling towards her.

"Jai never fell for me," she said, "at least not like that..."

"I beg to differ; he cared about you a lot".

She fell silent as she remembered Jai, she kinda missed him and they had been on that one date when Danielle had invited him over. She giggled at the memory.

"What's so funny?" Auggie asked, curiosity written all over his face.

"I just remembered my date with Jai," she said casually, waiting for the reaction she knew would come. She saw how Auggie's eyebrows shot up and at first he didn't seem to find the words.

"You dated Jai?" he said, trying not to sound too incredulous, after all it wouldn't have been all that weird. Annie was good looking; nice, lovely...Annie interrupted his thoughts.

"Well, first off you're the one to talk, how many have you dated within the agency?" she grinned "and secondly, relax, it wasn't a real date or anything, just a barbeque with Danielle and Michael, paper plates and all." She told him about the barbeque.

Auggie seemed more relax when she'd finish and he was smiling brightly towards her again, but a second later he looked all serious again.

"Annie, just to clarify, I might have slept with some agents, yes...but I've _never _dated them. This, right now, us, it's not like anything I've ever done before. It feels different, in a good way."

She felt stupid, of course Auggie was serious about them and she'd known it from the start really, this was just her insecurity settling in.

"I'm sorry Auggie."

"Don't be." he said offering her a smile. "And now, where were we. Oh, right how you look to me. Well, you look lovely," he paused as he took yet another sip of the red wine in front of him. "I've been close to you so I know that your fit, I mean we've been in numerous close combats at the gym, so that's a fact rather than how_ I _see you."

"You amaze me," she blurted out. She could feel her cheeks heat up, what was that? How come she just blurted that out? She'd just been so touched, as she was reminded of how he'd helped her in the gym, helped her on missions...at those times she forgot that he was blind; or rather it wasn't on her mind at all. Auggie was silent and she couldn't really understand the look he had on his face either. She felt a little uneasy.

"Thank you," he said finally, his voiced laced with sentiment. "It means a lot Annie, really. And it's one of the things I really like about you...I mean just the fact that _you_ are amazed by _me_, well, that make _you _amazing. A lot of women would probably just see me as a burden, as 'the blind guy' I mean I've been there."

She stretched out her hand towards his and squeezed it. She could feel tears threatening to well up and she had to compose herself, she didn't want to start crying in public, not that anyone would notice. She felt sorry for him, but mostly she thought it was so unfair that he thought that of himself.

"Auggie, please don't think of yourself that way," she begged. "You're an amazing guy. And I would _never _see you as a burden. I've never thought of you as the blind guy, to me you're you, you're Auggie. And I don't think I would've made it this far within the agency without you." _Or in life, she thought, he'd saved her countless times, without him who knows whether she'd even be alive._

She could see a smile flicker across his face and she felt herself relax a little.

The rest of the evening went on as they discussed lighter things like music; especially jazz and Mingus. She told him about the festival she'd been on in Stockholm and then they moved onto movies and baseball.

He realized just how much they had in common and Annie seemed pleased with this too. He also appreciated the fact that she liked baseball, even though he was more of a football fan himself, baseball was good too and he didn't know that many women who liked sport the way Annie did, she knew her stuff. He loved the fact that she wasn't like any other girl he'd ever met, she was nerdier, if that was even the right word to describe her. She had the perfect balance between nerdy-tom-boy and femininity. They finished the main course and after dessert, Auggie said he would pay and was happy when Annie didn't seem to argue with him. When they were standing outside, waiting for the car service to come and pick them up, he could tell that Annie was shivering and he went to stand behind her and held her body tightly; as he did he could feel her relax in his embrace.

"Auggie?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"I know that you said you hadn't dated anyone in the agency...but, have you brought a lot of other girls here. I know it's none of my business really -" she began but her sentence faded out, as if uncertain how to finish it. He could feel his heart tightening. He spun her around, so that she'd be able to look in his eyes.

"No Annie, I've never brought another girl here, not even Parker" he said his voice serious. "And don't you ever say that you're sorry for asking, considering the situation I'd say you're entitled to ask me these kinds of things and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." He paused, but she remained quiet, he found her cheek and brushed it carefully. "I meant what I said the other night Annie, I'm done looking, alright? And you are special to me, more so than anyone. I don't know how I can convince you that I'm dead serious about this, about _you._" He was done being careful with his words, he wanted her to know how much he cared about her and had, for so long even if he hadn't known it himself.

"I think you just convinced me," she breathed and then her lips were on his. When the car service came around he held her in his arms all the way to her house.

"Auggie, I'm sorry for being this paranoid, I guess I just realized when we met Vanessa that I don't really like the thought of sharing you with anyone else." She said shyly but knowing it was the truth and that he deserved to know it.

"Hey," he said in a hush tone, "it is okay and I understand. We don't have to make any rash decisions. But now you know how I feel."

She was just about to tell him more about how she felt about him and maybe even ask him inside, but her phone went off, she apologized to Auggie but he told her to answer it.

"Walker," she said. She didn't recognize the number on the caller-ID.

"Good evening Ms. Walker, are you alone?" The voice on the other end made her tense and alert, and not in a pleasant way.

"No, sorry," she said. Trying to keep her voice leveled. This was going to be difficult she realized and her spy skills were going to be put to a test and with Auggie as an audience, it would be hard to fool him considering he could pick up on the slightest of change in her voice.

"If you can, get some privacy, otherwise pretend like I'm someone else and call me back the second you're alone." He demanded his tone cold as stone.

"Danielle's moved, I'm her sister and I'm currently the occupant of the house." she heard the line went dead. But she knew that she had to keep up the charade. "Okay, well I'm not interested." she continued. "Okay, thank you."

She glanced at Auggie, but he didn't seem to look at her differently. Maybe she'd been able to fool him.

"Some energy company," she said hoping that it would work as her cover, "but I told them I was happy with my current provider."

He nodded but didn't say anything and she wasn't sure if he was buying it, anyway she couldn't tell him anything and hopefully he wouldn't pressure her. She leaned in towards him. She could feel him place a kiss on the top of her head. She wasn't sure how to end this night anymore, all the thoughts about inviting Auggie inside vanished as she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep lying to him, not out of the blue like this. _Oh, Walker you're in way over your head, she thought._

"Thank you for tonight," she whispered into his chest.

"You're welcome," he said. "Are you okay Annie?" his voice sounded worried.

Damn it, he _was _seeing through it.

"Yeah, I'm sorry...I'm not feeling all that well." She tried, even though she knew that that was like the number one get-out-of-any-situation card.

"Oh, was it the food?" the worry still laced his words.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm sure I just need to lie down for a while."

"Okay," he said.

"Will you be at the office tomorrow?" she asked. "I have some things that I have to fix, I wasn't able to work through all the stuff Joan gave me and she needs it by Monday."

"I'll probably be in later during the day; I have some encryption stuff to run." She could hear that he sounded a little sad or dejected maybe and she hated herself for doing this to him. This wasn't the way this night was supposed to end. But she knew that she had no choice.

She kissed him lightly before she exited the car; her nerves were all over the place.

"Are you sure you're okay," he tried before she closed the door between them.

"Positive," she said and tried her best to sound cheerful.

"Okay, well see you tomorrow Annie."

"See you tomorrow Auggie," she said and turned around towards her door. The second she was inside she cursed out loud and tears were welling up in her eyes. Why did Henry Wilcox had to call tonight of all nights? It was all going so well and now...where had she left things? He'd told her all those nice things, that he'd put all of his cards on the table and she had just been on the verge of reciprocating, telling him that she wanted to be with him and then her phone had gone off. So even if they hadn't defined anything, she hoped that he hadn't taken this as a bad sign, she made a mental note to try and smooth things over as soon as possible. She wasn't sure if they were dating now for real, or not so she was unsure what the protocol was, should she call him? With her head full of thoughts she went out again and towards the kitchen in the main house. She was in dire need of ice cream. She decided that calling now wasn't ideal, she needed some space.

As she sat there in the dark, she could feel the tears streaming down her face. She was sure that she wanted to be with Auggie, give them a try, but considering this whole Henry Wilcox thing, would she be able to juggle a real relationship _and _a big lie?

* * *

**A/N: **_I thought about this dress on Annie when I wrote about her dress. /fashion/how-to-dress-like-annie-walker-from-covert-affairs/  
in case you wanted to know ;)._

_**So what did you think about this chapter?**_


	6. Chapter 6 - Love the Way You Lie

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Thank you all for your support! I hope you weren't too disappointed by how Annie and Auggie's date ended. If it's any consolation, they both hated it too._

* * *

**Chapter 6  
**_Love the Way You Lie_

He sank down on the couch with a beer in his hand. He sighed, he felt slightly confused and maybe a little irritated. He knew though that he was being foolish, it _had _been a great night and even though the ending had left him feeling like this, maybe she'd just been overwhelmed and who was he to blame her for it? He tried to replay the events of the night, it had tugged at his heart that Annie had thought that she was just another girl to him, but he'd tried his best to convince her she wasn't and hopefully she had gotten that message. Maybe him deciding to be so open about his feelings had been a little rushed, but then he thought about that phone call that she'd taken in the car, it was after that that she'd wrapped things up. God, he didn't know what to think, she'd said that it had been an electric company calling and while those things happened, what kind of electric company called this late at night?

He leaned back, closing his eyes, recalling Annie's voice as she had told him that she wasn't feeling great. He was prepared to believe her on that, but inside he knew that she'd been untruthful about something, but he wasn't sure about what…either it was about their night, that she hadn't enjoyed it as much as she'd let on, or it was about that phone call, or maybe even both. He pressed the little button on his watch, it was late and he decided that he wouldn't get anywhere so decided that he might as well try to get some sleep.

As he lay down in bed he realized how tired he was, but as it would turn out, he'd scramble a lot in his sleep tonight and would wake up feeling, instead of rested, a little hangover and tired.

* * *

Annie hadn't had a good night's sleep either, in fact she had barely slept at all. She stumbled out of bed, a little worried about how the lack of sleep was going to affect her today, she had a lot of stuff to do for Joan and translating important documents, well it was needless to say that she needed to be alert. She thought back to the ending of her and Auggie's date and felt her heart sinking in her chest, she really hadn't intended for it to end that way. She hoped that Auggie would forgive her. She walked towards the purse she usually had with her to work and fished out the folder that Henry Wilcox had given her, she knew that she had to keep in mind what was important here, she stepped over to the window sill and propped open the hatch where she kept her various agency sanctioned passports and other CIA related things, she placed the file there, she needed it to be safe.

After a shower and a cup of coffee she felt much better, she got dressed, choosing something a little more casual considering it was a weekend and she didn't have any ops to get ready for, well except for one off-the-books. She dug up a pair of black, tight jeans from the dresser and paired them with a white tee and black, flat boots. She pulled up her hair in a ponytail, grabbed a camel-colored coat since she'd been kind of cold the other night.

She felt a little uneasy in the car and while she wanted to help Henry Wilcox get to the bottom of it all, or at least get some more information herself, it still felt weird. She turned on the car radio and Adele's deep and sensuous voice filled her car.

_This is the end. Hold your breath and count to ten._

Adele's new song Skyfall started and she couldn't help thinking that had anyone asked her a few weeks ago about being Henry Wilcox's go-to person, she would've laughed and said that that would've been the end of the world. She laughed a liberating laugh at the irony of it all. Well, the world wasn't ending, she had at least a month left, a little less she thought jokingly thinking about the Mayan calendar and its prediction about the end of the world. Adele's song continued on and she could feel herself shiver when the chorus started, Adele was a really talented singer, she thought. Her thoughts then moved to the conversation that she'd had with Henry Wilcox late last night; she could feel irritation build as she remembered it.

_"I hope this is important!" She'd said, irritation indisputably lacing her voice._

_"Now Ms. Walker, take it easy. We made a deal, right?" Henry Wilcox had replied sternly. His voice had sounded so false that she'd just wanted to scream at him, but she'd held her tongue. "I need you to do something for me." Henry had continued matter-of-factly, as if he could just order her around._

_"What?" she'd practically spat out in response._

_"I need you to do an exchange with an asset of mine." He'd said simply_

_"And you can't do this yourself because?" She knew she'd sounded cocky, but didn't believe that her courtesy extended to Henry Wilcox._

_"It's not your place to ask questions Ms. Walker. This asset of mine is very important if you want to help, but if you've changed your mind…" he'd let the sentence hang in the air and Annie had sighed at her end of the phone._

_"No, I haven't. Tell me." She'd finally replied._

_"Good. This exchange can't be done face-to-face. I will tell you what to write on a piece of paper, you're going to put this piece of paper in a brown envelope and do a drop exchange. You'll tape it to the inside of a trash can at Pimmit Bend Park. You'll go away for about fifteen minutes, and you'll find the answer, this time in a white envelope. Is this understood Ms. Walker?"_

_"Yes," she'd snapped. Irritated at the way he kept saying 'Ms. Walker' as if to downgrade her, he could at least address her as 'agent Walker', she'd shrugged. "Who exactly is this contact?"_

_"Well, Ms. Walker, don't freak out on me," he'd said as if she was simply a little girl, she could feel bile rise in her throat. "This man is former Mukhabarat."_

_She'd gasped upon getting this information. Mukhabarat was Iraqi Intelligence Organization, under Saddam Hussein, that had been stationed in Baghdad. She'd felt her pulse quickening. How could she be sure of that man's loyalty to Henry and the United States she'd asked herself?_

_"He was Special Bureau," Henry continued. "Directorate 5," he added._

_She'd just shaken her head in disbelief, this drop exchange suddenly felt much more dangerous._

_"Do you know about Directorate 5?" Henry Wilcox had queried._

_"Counter-Intelligence," she'd replied, "responsible for detection and neutralization of foreign intelligence agents." She'd shivered upon finishing the sentence._

_"Good girl," Henry had said. And for the next fifteen minutes he had explained the protocol all over again and told her what to write on that note._

_She had thought about asking for more information, but had stopped herself, she hadn't been sure that she'd wanted to know._

Annie pulled into the parking lot at Langley, having re-hashed the whole conversation over and over in her head, she couldn't believe that she was really doing this, initiating contact with a former Mukhabarat agent, _how former could one be she thought_. She knew that she'd turned assets as well, but they were usually not former intelligent agents. She swiped her key card and opened the doors into the CIA lobby. Once behind her desk, she took a deep breath, she had to focus on one task at the time and Joan's task was the first one to demand her attention. She was almost finished translating a Portuguese document when she realized it was time to head towards _Pimmit Bend Park, _she felt nervous as she stepped outside the office, she had the envelope safely tucked in her purse. She'd been happy to notice that Auggie wasn't in yet, she hated lying to him, this way she could just mind her own business and get this stupid assignment done.

* * *

The drop had been easy enough; there hadn't been much people around. She was in her car again, driving and after a few minutes she decided to stop at a hot dog stand, she hadn't eaten anything and was feeling famished. When she'd finished she picked up her phone to send Auggie a text message, hopefully he wasn't too upset with her, not that he didn't have a right to be. The reply came a few minutes later.

**Auggie A.  
**_12:46 PM_  
Looking forward to seeing you too.  
It's okay, I'm glad you're feeling better.  
On my way into Langley now.  
See you soon.

Yours/A.

At least the end "Yours/A" boded well, she reasoned as she shot a glance at her watch, surely she could head back to the park now and if everything went smoothly now too, she'd be back at Langley in time to greet Auggie. She parked on the outskirts of the park and started walking towards the trash can, it was getting chillier outside, it was November 24th after all and she realized that it was only a month left until Christmas. Before she reached inside the trash can for the white envelope, she took a quick glance around, but no one seemed to be focusing on her. She quickly grabbed the envelope and stuffed it in her purse and stalked back to her car. A few seconds later her phone rang.

"Walker." She answered.

"You got the envelope, good job." Said Henry Wilcox, "have it messengered to me," he added.  
_  
_She felt a chill running down her spine.

"How do_ you _know I got the answer?" she asked, not able to contain the anger seeping into her words. "Are you having me followed?" she demanded.

"Ms. Walker, take it easy. Like I said the last time we got together," he said his voice remaining calm, "just assume that I know everything."

The line went dead. She felt violated somehow and threw the phone onto the driver's seat next to her. She made a mental note of checking her phone for bugs when she got back at Langley, maybe Auggie could help her. But then she realized that one of the difficulties about their feelings – albeit mostly his – were out there, was that she'd feel inquired to share with him, things that she just would've shrugged off a few weeks ago. She knew that Auggie would still respect her privacy, but she also knew that she'd feel rotten for not telling him…oh well, she could decide what to do about that later she reasoned. Her phone went off again; she clicked on her hands free.

"What?" she spat out, without even bothering to check the caller-ID.

"Annie?" Joan said surprised, "what's wrong?"

"Oh, sorry Joan," she replied cursing under her breath, "I thought you were someone else." She hoped that Joan would realize it was something personal and that she wouldn't ask for more information. She didn't.

"I wanted to talk to you. I'm in my office, could you come in?" she asked without giving away anything.

"I'll be there in fifteen," she replied.

"Good." Joan said. "See you soon."

* * *

"Joan?" Annie said as she knocked on Joan's door carefully.

"Come in Annie," she heard from behind it. She walked in; Joan was cradling her desk phone between her shoulder and her ear. "Sit down, I'll be done in just a second," she said.

Annie nodded and did as she was told.

"Sure, okay have them faxed over directly." Joan continued and then hung up the phone.

"Annie thank you for coming in so quickly, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well I spoke with Andrew," Joan continued. Annie recognized her therapist's name. "And I know that he cleared you for field duty, but you have to keep seeing him for a while longer."

Annie nodded, confirming it.

"Are you sure about getting back into the field?" Joan asked.

Was Joan asking her to go back into the field? Annie's heart raced.

"Yes, absolutely" she answered.

"Okay, well then let's get you up to speed." Joan handed her a folder, she opened it. "That man," Joan continued, "is Alain Moreau." Annie didn't recognize the name, so she waited for Joan to continue. "More known as Bernard Fournier."

"You mean the arms dealer?" Annie asked.

"Exactly," Joan confirmed. "He's been known to sell arms to Somalia and he's even tried to come here, to the US. That time we didn't get him…" the sentence faded out. "But now, there's chatter that he might try again, here on American soil and it's important we get him this time!"

"Okay, so what do we know?" Annie asked, feeling alert and all earlier complications felt far away.

"He hasn't been active for quite a while, or rather he hasn't been on our radar until now," Joan explained, "he's supposed to attend an event here in D.C., an art installment and we heard from a reliable source about his attending. He's coming here with his wife, and we think that she was the one who initiated this trip."

"So what do you want me to do?" Annie asked.

"He's a wanted man, but Interpol has asked us not to risk taking him at the gate, but we're gonna have eyes on him from the moment he enters this country. We want to catch him in the act; we have reasons to believe that he has set up to meet a contact here in the State and that he's going to try and initiate a sale, we need evidence on this before with capture and interrogate him." Joan said determined. "We don't know when he'll try, so I will need you to shadow him while he's here. We know where he's going to stay, we assume that he's going to check his rooms for bugs, so we have to be creative, I'll talk to Auggie and the other tech-ops. Anyway, we have to map his movements at all time, he's only going to be here for 24 hours, so we think that he's meet is probably happening at the installment."

"Could I use my cover at the Smithsonian to get into this installment?"

"Yes, we believe that your cover is still intact."

Joan spent another half hour going through details as Annie tried to make notes and take it all in, she was looking forward to going back in to the field but she knew that this mission was sensitive and she really wanted Joan to be able to catch this man this time. She was well aware what those arms were used for in countries like Somalia, she cringed.

"Tell Auggie that this concerns 'Operation Red Notice', he'll help you with the technical aspects of what you need to have on you. This will go down tomorrow night; he'll land at Washington Dulles at 11 AM. Be here for the official brief at 7 AM tomorrow."

"Okay," she said, adrenaline coursing through her body.

"And Annie," Joan said before she exited the office, "I'm well aware that this window is incredibly small, and this is not all on you, alright?"

She nodded.

"And are you sure that you're okay? You sounded upset earlier." Joan queried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks Joan." She said and stepped out.

There was a little more activity on the DPD floor she noticed, she knew that she had to talk to Auggie but it felt complicated, she knew that she had to smooth things over but at the moment she felt drained of energy, she sank down behind her desk, trying to collect herself. She started thumbing through Fournier's file and sighed.

* * *

"Walker?"

She looked up and saw Auggie standing by her desk; she'd been so consumed in the file that she hadn't noticed him walking up to her.

"Hi Auggie," she said. He noticed that she sounded anxious.

"I heard that you were in with Joan for quite a while, everything okay?" he asked concerned. He could hear her stand up and she placed a hand just above his elbow. "Come here," she said and he let her guide him back to the tech-op area.

Annie made sure that they were alone; she assumed neither Barber nor Stu would be coming in today.

"I need to talk to you," she said.

He could hear it in her voice that this was business and he nodded towards her direction, waiting for her to continue. Her breathing was elevated and he felt an uneasiness settling in.

"Joan's letting me back into the field," Annie said.

"Well, that's good, right?" he asked. He thought that maybe her anxiety had something to do about heading back into the field, which made sense.

"Yeah, but…I only have a 24 hour window to bring in this man…" she sighed.

He was surprised, _what kind of first field-op was this, he thought._

"It's pertaining 'Operation Red Notice'," she finally said.

"Oh…" was all that he could manage. "That's…" he could feel his heart beating fast. And he felt worried; Fournier was not a guy to play with. He remembered the last time that this office had tried to capture him, Jai had been severely beaten and if he remembered correctly Mercer had been in the mix too. "It's dangerous…" he said, his worry evident, but he didn't care.

"I know Auggie, I read the file…but this is different, Jai and Ben tried to get him a very different setting, where Fournier could take control more easily. But this time, it'll go down at an art installment most likely. So don't worry." She tried, glancing at him.

"I _will _worry," he said and sighed. "But I'll help you to the best of my ability, I'll have Barber and Stu help me set up too, and come here," he walked her over to what looked like a closet, but that was filled with tech stuff.

"I won't be totally alone either, I mean backup's gonna be close by," she promised.

He didn't seem more relaxed.

"Auggie…" she said carefully as he assembled something that she was supposed to bring with her. "I'm really sorry about last night."

He stopped what he was doing and turned towards her.

"It's okay," he said before deciding to ask, "Was it something I did?"

"Oh, no Auggie! Absolutely_ not_!" she exclaimed and he could feel himself relax a little as he could tell that she was telling the truth. She gave him a quick hug.

"Did it have something to do with that phone call?"

"No…" she replied, but he could hear the hesitance in her voice, this time she _was_lying. But he realized that it might have something to do with their profession and he was well aware that secrets were a big part of it, he had his share of secrets too that he couldn't share with Annie either.

"I understand," he offered. He knew that if Annie had to keep something from him, she was surely suffering too, that's who she was and he wasn't about to make her feel any worse. He pulled her in close to him; he wondered how this mission would go and prayed that nothing would happen to her. He also wished that he could keep her safe at all times, but he knew that being a CIA agent came with its risks, he was living proof of that.

Annie felt his arms around her, but for the first time, she didn't relax by his embrace. She hated lying to him and she was quite sure that Auggie had picked up on that. She tried to legitimize her lying by chalking it up to bureaucracy, but her heart was still breaking.

* * *

**A/N: **_I hope you liked it and that you'll __continue to review my story__. To get information I used a Wikipedia search on Mukhabarat._


	7. Chapter 7 - Operation Red Notice - Pt 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N:** _I hope that you're all looking forward to Operation Red Notice. I've decided to divide the Operation into 3 parts, so that you won't get too bored with long chapters. So here goes the first part._

* * *

**Chapter 7  
**_Operation Red Notice - Pt. 1_

Annie was nervous as she stepped into the massive CIA building this morning, sure there was some excitement too, but she knew how important this was. It was 6 AM, so she had time to try and wind down and maybe do a last minute read of the files she'd received yesterday, although she was pretty sure that she'd managed to memorize them and details about her cover tonight.

"Annie!" Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from down the hall; she turned around and saw Arthur Campbell walking towards her.

She could feel her heart quickening, she hadn't spoken to Arthur since Khalid and she wasn't sure what to expect. She knew that she'd undermined Joan's authority and gone straight to Arthur with Khalid and then it had turned out to be faulty Intel, but she squared her shoulders and tried to offer him a smile as he caught up with her.

"Hi," she said as they waited for the elevators together. The silence felt a little uncomfortable and she found herself trying to will the elevator doors open.

"Annie," Arthur said, turning towards her, "we're really glad that you're onboard with this. You're a good agent and the cover you can provide tonight is perfect."

She nodded. "Of course," she replied, uncertain how to proceed. They stepped onto the elevator.

"Don't worry though," Arthur added as he held up the doors to the DPD for her, "the Agency will be behind you on this, every step of the way. We don't want things to end the way they did the last time."

They walked in.

"The setting now is more ideal for us and you'll do great. You know how to get results in the field Annie, Joan really believes in you, we all do."

"Thank you Arthur." She replied, wondering if he was telling the truth. Did they really believe in her?

"How are you feeling?" he said as they stopped by her desk.

"Good, good." She tried to reassure him, but she knew that she wasn't fooling anyone. Her nerves were on edge at the moment.

"This won't go unnoticed," Arthur said as he patted her on the shoulder and then continued towards Joan's office.

On the one hand Annie was happy to be acknowledged by Arthur Campbell, but on the other hand she felt like a lot was riding on her, everything had to go well! This wasn't going to be another Russia, she thought as she clenched her jaw and tried to shake it all off. She glanced at her watch, 6.13 AM. She was about to dig out the files that she had in her purse, when she saw Auggie in the tech-op area. It was already filled with life and she wondered how long they had been going. Auggie was standing behind his desk and seemed to be giving Stu and Barber directions. She decided that a little talk with Auggie might do her good, it usually did.

She placed a knock on the glass door before entering.  
"Hey guys," she said carefully, not wanting to disturb them.

"Hey Annie," Barber said with a bright smile. "The woman of the hour, or day..." Barber's sentence faded out. She couldn't help but smile a weak smile towards him, that man could brighten any mood she thought, he was kinda goofy but sweet.

She turned towards Auggie and a bigger smile spread across her face. They had talked over the phone during last night; he'd helped quiz her on some of the things about Fournier and also offered a lot of insight from the first time around when they'd tried to catch him. At the end he had also ended up supporting her and saying all these nice things, she'd really appreciated it and needed it.

"Hey," she whispered as she went over to stand closer to him.

"Hey Walker," he whispered back. Then he turned his head. "Hey guys, could you give me a minute with Agent Walker I want to make sure to brief her on all of this, he made a general motion towards the room where different tech stuff were scattered all over the place. Stu and Barber both stopped what they were doing, they both knew that Auggie was particularly thorough this morning and they didn't want to stand in his way and they couldn't stand listening to another run-through again.

"Sure, we'll go grab some coffee." Stu said. "Can we get you anything?" he added.

"No thanks," Annie said offering him a smile.

"I'm good," Auggie said.

And a few seconds later they were all alone. She hugged him as soon as Barber and Stu were out of sight, he hugged back.

"How are you?" Auggie asked carefully.

"I honestly don't know," she replied after a while, "I just...this has to go well." She could hear his heart beating as she rested her head on his chest. She liked the sound of the steady beat, it calmed her.

"Yeah, me too," he said and Annie could hear the strain in his voice. She hugged him tighter. "I don't like the feeling of not knowing whether you're going to be okay," he continued.

"I know," she whispered. "But that's not really what I'm worried about..."

"What are you worried about Walker?"

"I want...I want to be able to bring this home," she said, trying to formulate what she felt in words. "This office could use a win...especially after all I helped Lena with and the faulty information I gave on Khalid." She could feel the irritation welling up inside of her.

"Hey!" Auggie snapped and all of a sudden his hands were on her upper arms, pushing her away so to make sure that she was looking at him, instead of into his chest. "Don't even think like that, okay?"

He sounded upset, but before she could say anything he continued.

"This op is _not _about a win that you need to bring home to prove yourself Walker. You're a great agent and like always you'll go into the field and do your best, you don't have any personal obligations to this office, you just have to be the best agent you can be, that's it! No one is expecting this to be easy, alright?"

She knew that he was right, this was work and nothing personal, but she couldn't really shake the feeling that she'd been in the middle of two very big things lately that had put this office into trouble. First she'd been called a traitor, due to Lena's attempt to put all the suspicion on her and she had helped a double agent...and then there was Khalid. She personally wanted this win.

"Annie?" Auggie said, still sounding upset.

"Yes, I know..." she whispered, "but it's hard..." she added, her voice trembled on the last part.

"Come here," Auggie said and hugged her again. She inhaled the smell of him.

"I think I'm gonna go through the file on the wife again, I might have to initiate contact with her tonight."

"Okay. But Walker, remember what I said, alright?" he said, letting her go. "And please, try to listen to my directions tonight; I don't want you to get in over your head tonight. No rash, impulse decisions if we can avoid them, okay?"

"I promise," she said.

* * *

Auggie sat down in his chair, he was worried but it hit him that he usually felt like this when it had come to Annie. All the previous missions, whenever he knew that she was in danger, or were about to be, he'd felt like this. This realization left him a little puzzled but before he could mull it over more carefully, Eric and Stu came back and he pushed the thought aside.

"Okay, so everything's set up in here just like I told you?" Auggie said, double - or was it triple – checking?

"Yes, Auggie try to relax, we've been through this." Barber said.

"I know," he sighed, "I just need this to work, everything has to work, no glitches, no delays."

"I know you want her to be safe," Barber offered.

He nodded. It wasn't a secret that he cared about Annie and that she affected him, they'd always been close, from the start, so he wasn't worried about showing these emotions. He walked over to a table containing the tech stuff that Annie had to have on her, he checked all of them again making sure that they were assembled in the right way and that they were all working. He hated the fact that they couldn't risk implanting any bugs in the hotel room, they couldn't afford to let him know that they were on to him...but he probably already knew he seemed to be a guy that was prepared for every scenario and it was for that reason that no one had managed to capture him...yet.

"But this mission, it must be exciting for Annie. I mean going back into the field." He heard Barber say to Stu.

He shook his head, he knew that Barber hadn't been read in yet, but this wasn't your ordinary field mission. _Oh, Barber you don't even know the half of it, he thought._

"This mission is incredibly dangerous," he said in Barber and Stu's direction. "If you thought that Lindsay's mission was a little pressing...well, this is going to be ten times that, at least." He muttered and didn't bother to wait for a reply, he put on his headphones again and made sure that his programs were all updated to the latest version and made sure they running smoothly.

* * *

"Okay," Joan started. They were all gathered around the information center. Up on the screen behind Joan were two large pictures.

"This is Alain Moreau, more known as Bernard Fournier." Joan continued. She then told everyone about what he'd done his background and that they were currently operating together with French Intelligence and French HUMINT.

Annie tried to focus, but the only thing she could hear were her own frantic heartbeats. She shook her head, trying her best to listen, even though she'd read about all of it.

"Fournier is extremely dangerous and for those of you who worked on Operation Red Notice the last time, well you know what I'm talking about." Behind her on the screen appeared pictures of Jai's sustained injuries and Ben's, although his had been milder. Annie turned her head; she couldn't let these pictures get to her now, as she turned she could see Barber looking blanched in the back. She could feel Auggie inching closer to her and he grabbed her hand. She held on to it and for the moment, he felt like a lifeline.

"With him on this trip he'll have his wife," another pictured appeared on the screen. "This is Odette Moreau, we're operating under the assumption that she doesn't know about her husband's trade. They will land at 11 AM at Washington Dulles; we'll have people on them as soon as they arrive. But per Interpol's instruction we're not gonna try and take him in at the airport. Instead we'll shadow them. Annie, you're running point on this and we'll have back-up close by at all times. Tonight you'll attend the art installment that Odette and Alain will attend."

She nodded, confirming what Joan had said. The she spaced out again; she went through some of the details in her head. She knew that agent Kelting was going to be with her, her thoughts drifted to Jai...had he been around he'd surely be with her, or even running point on this, she missed him. Kelting was a good agent as far as she knew, but they hadn't worked all that much together.  
She also knew that the majority of this op would be her, alone. She felt her nerves acknowledge their presence yet again.

"Annie, are you sure that you're okay?" Joan asked, as she stepped towards her after the brief.

"Yes, I'm okay...I'm a little nervous though," she replied truthfully.

"I understand, but you'll do fine and we'll all be here. Now, go have Auggie set you up with the surveillance tech that you need. Then it might be a good idea to head towards the airport. An agent Laroche will meet up with you at Dulles, he's from French Intelligence, he's going to be with you too, but unfortunately at the event tonight you're going in by yourself, but Auggie, Stu and Barber will be able to communicate with you throughout the night."

She nodded, her head filled with all of the information.

"Annie, why don't you take a five minute break, and then head to tech-op to get set up, alright?" Joan said kindly.

Annie didn't have to be told twice, she marched out of the office, suddenly feeling as if breathing was getting harder. Once outside, she took a couple of deep breaths. _God, Walker! You've been out in the field countless of times with people equally scary, she thought. _She knew that it was her recent screw-ups with Lena and Khalid that was haunting her, and even though she wouldn't admit it, her episode in Russia had done a number on her.

* * *

"Okay, Annie here, let me put this on..." Barber said and fumbled a little until she was wearing the necklace. It was a golden pendant with a hidden microphone. Barber then went on to explain the range and other tech-related information, but there was only so much that she could take in.

She then got some small bugs that she could plant on someone, if that opportunity presented itself. Joan joined them.

"Annie, I had the dress for tonight delivered to your house. About an hour before the event you can go home and get ready, Kelting will take over surveillance then, alright?"

"Yes, sure, thank you Joan." She replied.

"Well then, if you're all set here I think it's time to start heading towards the airport." Joan added.

Annie nodded.

"I'll follow you out," Auggie offered and a few seconds later they were standing by the elevators.

She could see the pained look in his eyes and she felt sorry for him, this had to be incredibly hard on him too.

"I'll be fine," she whispered.

"I know..." he said, but he didn't sound too convinced.

To her surprise he stepped onto the elevator with her and as soon as the doors were closed his lips were crushing down on hers, the kiss they shared was passionate as if they'd never had the chance to kiss each other again.

"Be careful Walker," he whispered into her hair, as they were embracing by the lobby.

"I will," she promised and took in his scent one last time. "I'll see you tonight."

"I will take you up on that," he said seriously. "I'll have a beer or two waiting," he said.

She smiled towards him before she walked in the direction of her car.

* * *

**A/N: **_I hope you enjoyed the beginning of this Op, let me know what you thought by __reviewing__ please :)._


	8. Chapter 8 - Operation Red Notice - Pt 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Okay guys, first off thank you __**so much **__for your reviews, it makes me so happy. Secondly, here's pt. 2 of Operation Red Notice. I know you might feel impatient but at the end of the chapter you'll get a little preview of the action ahead and I promise you __**Annie/Auggie **__fan out there that things concerning their - whatever it is that they have so far - will heat up soon enough. Stay tuned._

* * *

**Chapter 8  
**_Operation Red Notice - Pt. 2_

She walked into the international terminal at Dulles, as expected there were a lot of people around. Everything seemed so normal, people were travelling, and families were gathered. Her heart was beating fast and she almost felt self-conscious, surprised that no one else could hear it too. Life has a way of moving on...the words Henry Wilcox had said to her when they'd met at Vesta came to mind. If these people only knew that there was about to land a very dangerous man here in a matter of minutes, a wanted man. She made her way towards the gate; Arthur had made sure to get her on the inside smoothly. The plane hadn't landed yet, so she settled into one of the leather seats outside of the gate, she looked at her watch it was 10.32 AM, she took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. She looked around, there weren't a lot of people in this particular area, but after a few minutes she saw a familiar face walking towards her. Agent Kelting looked quite good out of the ordinary work clothes, more human somehow, Annie hadn't seen him like this before but she kind of liked it. But as established by protocol, they weren't to engage with each other so she quickly turned her gaze elsewhere. She was a little startled when her phone started buzzing; she reached for it and answered.

"You all settled in Walker?" Auggie asked. She smiled, hearing his voice was at least something familiar, something to make all of it feel more like any other operation. Of course, this time the memory of their kiss crossed her mind briefly, but she quickly regained focus as he continued. "Everyone's in place, it's soon game time. How are you feeling?"

"Good," she said and it was almost true. "Although I haven't seen agent Laroche yet," she said as she quickly scanned the area again.

"He has confirmed that he's in place, I'm sure he's around Walker," Auggie reassured. He sounded calm, composed. "Just relax until the plane arrives, it's all going to be okay." She wanted desperately to believe him.

"There doesn't seem to be any delays either," Auggie confirmed a few seconds later, "everything's on schedule."

"Thanks Auggie," she said and they hung up. She could feel that her senses were heightened; she flinched at every sound around her. Get a grip Walker, she thought. She shot a quick glance at agent Kelting; he was leaning towards a column and seemed to be doing something on his phone. She picked up her own phone, plugged in her ear-buds and listened to some music and as the sweet jazz drained out all of the other noise she could feel herself relax a little.

* * *

The plane had landed, her heart was beating frantically and surely her adrenaline level was through the roof. She stayed in her seat, waiting for movements. After about ten minutes the first people were exiting, she held her breath as she carefully glanced up. Odette Moreau was the first one to exit of the two, she looked really beautiful even though she'd been on a plane for hours and Annie had to bite down on her tongue in order to not gasp when she saw him, Alain Moreau. He was here and the mission was on. She carefully rose out of her seat and shadowed them at a distance; they were heading towards baggage claim.

After half an hour, the Moreau's had finally gathered their belongings and where heading out, when they got out of the airport the couple went to hail a cab. Annie quickly made her way towards her own car, as she started it, she saw that Kelting were close by the couple, following protocol, making sure that someone was close by the Moreau's at all times.

Tailing via car wasn't as stressful and something that felt much easier, she was practically relaxed as she followed the cab heading into central D.C. She had done her best to stand as closely to the Moreau's as possible while at the airport, while still maintaining a safe distance, she wondered if Auggie and the other tech-ops had picked anything up. She decided to call in.

"Auggie," she said as he answered. "Were you able to pick up anything from my microphone?" she requested.

"Stu's on that at the moment, I'm sure we got something, but I'm not sure if it's of any value yet. We're going to have a translator look at it when he's done. How's it going so far?"

"It's going well, I'm heading into D.C. they're in a cab," she read Auggie the license plate too, just to be on the safe side. "Have you heard anything from Kelting?"

"Yeah, he's close by Annie," Auggie replied.

"Annie?" She could hear Joan's voice joining in.

"Oh, hi Joan" she said, while focusing on the road.

"What can you tell us so far?"

"Well, not much. They seem to be quite discreet people, they look normal...and in love," she offered.

"Okay, you're doing great Annie, keep on them until 4 PM, then Kelting has been instructed to take over surveillance while you get ready for the art installment that starts at 5 PM."

"Yeah, alright," she said finishing the conversation.

She hung up. So far so good, she thought but she knew that this was the easy part and she couldn't afford to get cocky. As she drove, her thoughts drifted to Jai and Ben, who had been the first ones to pursue this man and it had ended badly...would tonight end badly too? She shrugged and focused on the cab up a head.

The cab stopped outside the St Regis Washington, she radioed Kelting to keep an eye on them as she went around the building to park her car. The Agency had already contacted the manager at the Regis, so everything was in place, she could come and go as she pleased.

"Where are they?" she radioed again as she was heading towards the entrance.

"They're still at check-in," Kelting's voice came back.

"Good," she said.

As per protocol Kelting was supposed to keep an eye in the lobby, she on the other hand was going to be more flexible and more on-foot, since no one knew whether Alain would be set up the meet now, in the hours leading up to tonight's event or if he'd stay around the hotel. Just as she was about to go through the entrance, she caught a glance of Agent Laroche, he on the other hand wasn't dressed casually but wore a dark suit, but she had to give it to him, at a place like this he fit in incredibly nice. She took a quick glance at herself, she looked good enough. As she headed into the lobby, she walked up to one of the counters and got herself a key card. It was all part of the plan; it had to look authentic; like she was actually staying there herself.

The Moreau's were still in conversation with the manager, she hoped that everything was going well and that there would be no last-minute changes. She headed towards the stairs, Kelting was keeping an eye on them, and she had to make sure that they had an eye on them when they reached their floor. Who knew, whether Alain had set up a meet at the hotel, the Moreau's elevator ride would be their only blind spot.

As she reached the floor she looked through the corridor, everything seemed fine, she found the room were the Moreau's would be staying and she positioned herself so that she wouldn't be seen from the elevators, but still had a view of the area outside their room. Time seemed to stand still, after fifteen minutes they still hadn't come up; she was just about to radio Kelting to see if there was any trouble when she saw them. Her pulse raced and she held her breath as she watched them go into their room. They seemed to be alone, no third party...at least not yet. Okay, so at least they knew where they were now, she picked up her phone.

* * *

"Walker, speak to me." Auggie's said as he'd pressed answer; they had all waited for her call since Kelting had confirmed them in place at the St Regis.

"They're in their hotel room, everything's seems fine." She said.

He could feel himself exhale, not so much because everything was fine, even though that was a part of it, but because her voice made him calmer.

"Good work, Walker." He said. "By the way, remember that GPS clip that I gave you?"

"Yes," she said. He could hear her digging through what he assumed to be her purse.

"Please put it on, just as a precaution," he added the last thing in order not to wind her up. He knew that when being a handler the worst thing he could do was letting worry get across to the agent in the field, it was his job to keep them calm, even if he wasn't.

Joan came in as they'd hung up.

"What's the status?" she asked.

"They're all in place; Annie just called to confirm that both Alain and Odette are in their hotel room, everything seems calm at the moment." He explained.

"Good. Keep me posted," Joan said and turned back towards her office. She was probably going to brief Arthur about the progress.

He grabbed a bit of his tuna melt, they hadn't heard from Annie for over two hours, so things were probably going smoothly over at the St Regis too. He had to admit that for a mission so dangerous they all seemed pretty relaxed. His phone rang.

"Walker," he said waiting for her response.

"Someone just walked up," Annie's voice was elevated and he could feel himself getting more alert.

"Do you know who?" he queried. "Barber, check if we got him on the hallway cameras!" he said while awaiting Annie's answer.

"No, I don't recognize him..." Annie said, "Odette's out, she announced that she was going shopping a half hour ago. Kelting's on her or Laroche..." she said.

"Yeah, Laroche's on Odette." Auggie confirmed.

"He managed to dodge the cameras pretty well; we can't see much of him and especially not his face." Barber said.

"Damn it," Auggie cursed. This could be the buyer; his thoughts were reeling in his head. What now?

"Okay, radio Kelting to get up here! I need to get back down to the lobby." Annie said then.

"Okay," he motioned for Stu to do it. "Annie what are you doing?" he felt weary, he couldn't have Annie go off protocol now, it was way too risky. The dial tone came over the speakers, she'd hung up.

"Damn!" He cursed again.

"What's wrong Auggie?" Joan came stalking in.

"Odette's out and just now Alain let a man inside his hotel room -"

"This might be the buy," Joan finished his sentence. He nodded.

"Where's Annie?" suspicion laced her voice.

"I don't know, she wanted Kelting to take over, she's heading down to the lobby..."

"What the hell does she think she's doing?!" came Arthur's voice from behind Joan.

"Always trust that your operatives have a plan..." Auggie tried, but he understood Arthur's anger and he had explicitly asked Annie not to go off protocol unless absolutely necessary...but maybe it was?

"Hasn't she done enough?" Arthur suddenly said.

These words felt like a punch in the stomach, Auggie felt anger rise in his body. How could Arthur say something like that?! Annie was an amazing agent and she'd put herself on the line countless times, even when she didn't have to and she'd been called a traitor...he was just about to say something in response when he heard Joan take over.

"Arthur!" Joan exclaimed.

He could hear Joan leading him out and then came the tell-tale signs of an argument as he could make out voices rise and fall outside the tech-op area. At least Joan believed in Annie, he thought.

He was still furious when Barber exclaimed.

"Um, guys...I can see Annie on the feed from the corridor..."

"What's happening?" Auggie demanded as he turned his attention towards Barber.

"She um...changed, it looks...well, different." Barber tried.

"What do you mean different?" He asked puzzled.

"She's wearing...a tight black skirt, high heels and a white button down blouse and well...she's showing cleavage. She's also in make-up now, different than what she usually wears." Barber explained. Maybe a little too detailed, Auggie thought but shrugged the thought off.

Annie was obviously using a disguise, but it was still extremely risky, he swallowed and put his headphones on, trying to distinguish any sounds to get a picture of what was going on.

"She's swiping a key card to Alain's room," Barber said sounding incredulous.

Auggie could barely breathe, Walker what the hell is your plan?

"Qu'est-ce que c'est que ce truc?!" roared a burly voice. Auggie knew that this was Alain and even though he didn't speak French, he could tell by the sound of it that it wasn't pleasant.

"He said...well, it can be translated to 'what the hell'," Barber filled in. Auggie nodded, waiting for the rest of it. He wished desperately that he could so something, but he didn't know what.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Annie's voice said in a sultry tone. "They must have given me the wrong key."

"She's using what she was taught during her first mission," Joan said as she stepped in, without Arthur this time.

Auggie recalled Annie's first mission, concerning Stanislav Orlovski aka Stas, Annie had gotten assigned being Stas' handler and part of that mission had been passing as a call girl. Considering what Barber had just described, Annie was going for the conservative look that hookers in D.C. usually went by.

"Oh, my god!" Stu exclaimed.

"What is it?" demanded both him and Joan simultaneously.

"She actually did it..." Barber said sounding amazed, "she must have placed a bug on him...but I didn't see her...but I can hear what's going on!"

How had she managed to place a bug and where? She hadn't touched him according to the feed and Alain had slammed the door in her face after just a few seconds. Even though he felt angry and worried, because Annie had placed herself in an enormous risk, he couldn't help but feel amazed and proud.

Joan called in an interpreter who sat down with them to listen to the feed that Annie had provided them with. So far it seemed as though Alain's friend was actually just that, a friend. They were reminiscing about old times.

"What happens now?" Auggie asked Joan.

"It's too risky, even though Annie wasn't made, having her make contact tonight at the installment. It's too dangerous now that Alain has seen her." Joan stated firmly.

"It's already 3.30 AM; Annie might already be on her way."

"Call her; tell her we'll send in Kelting instead..." Joan said sounding displeased.

It was then that they heard it, through the interpreter; the meet was going to happen tonight.


	9. Chapter 9 - Operation Red Notice - Pt 3

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Again thank you for all of your lovely reviews, I love you guys. So I know that you're probably dying for some Annie/Auggie action, things will return back to them soon, but for now there's a lot of other action as this Operation is heading towards a close._

* * *

**Chapter 9  
**_Operation Red Notice - Pt. 3_

The whole tech-op area was buzzing; things had to be reported through the proper channels and that within only a few minutes. Joan had gone to brief Arthur and those who had clearance to know about this operation. Auggie felt the anxiousness build as he tried to reach Annie for the fifth time. Where the hell was she?

"Anything on the audio feed?" He requested.

"No, they're back to talking about the old days. Annie really helped us out, we might have missed this." Barber said as he settled down in his chair.

"Yeah, I know..." his thoughts drifted to Annie, he knew her and she wasn't the one to step down, he had to get a hold of her before she put herself in even more danger. But him ordering her over the phone wasn't gonna to cut it, a small army couldn't stop Annie Walker when she wanted something. He was about to try her again when Joan stepped in.

"Have you heard anything?" Joan said. But before he could reply she continued, "I've talked to Kelting, he's going in. I will send Agent Jackson to the St. Regis as Kelting's back-up" she said.

"I haven't been able to reach Annie yet," he said. He could hear Joan sigh, she too was well aware of Annie's stubbornness.

"Just get a hold of her Auggie, keep trying." She ordered. He nodded as he hit dial again.

_Hi, you've reached Annie Walker..._

He hung up.

* * *

Annie wrapped a towel around her body, it had been nice to unwind a little, considering how tense she'd felt these last couple of hours. She rummaged through her dresser, picking out a pair of underwear and then turned towards the dress. It looked amazing, it was a long, ruby-red Valentino dress she picked it down and carefully slipped it on, then she went on to make-up. When she was done it was almost 4.30 PM and she knew that she had to get going. She took a last look at herself in the hallway mirror, her hair - which she'd changed - went in short curls, her make-up went in golden tones that matched the simple gold pendant with the microphone around her neck.

She'd called the car service to take her to the event, as she'd settled into the car; she reached for her purse to check her phone and got an uneasy feeling when she saw that Auggie had called eleven times. She was just about to call him back, when her phone started buzzing again.

**DPD Tech-OP calling**

"Hi Auggie, can't a girl get some time to get dressed?" she said with a teasing tone.

"Walker?!" she could hear the frustration in his voice. "What the hell were you thinking?" Auggie hissed over the phone, but she knew it was because he was worried. She took a deep breath, before answering him.

"Auggie, I'm sorry...I know I went off protocol, but I had to act, you know that!" She could hear him sigh in response.

"While it might have given result," he paused, "it was incredibly dangerous for you to go off protocol now and it wasn't your call Walker. That said, Joan's sending Kelting in instead of you."

"What?" she gasped. "But I'm the Agency's in tonight, I have the cover and I know everything about the Moreau's." She argued.

"This is Joan's order Walker, like I said, even if what you did was courageous and helped us out..." he paused yet again and she could hear him collect himself, when his voice returned it was calmer. "Thanks to your bug, we've found out that the meet is happening, tonight. But since Alain has seen you...Annie it's too great of a risk."

"But, Auggie, I know this mission!" she exclaimed.

"Annie, this is non-negotiable." She could hear Joan's voice, the authority dripping from her voice.

"But, Joan...I can do this!" she breathed, "Alain barely looked at me, I promise you I can do this, alright! I'm wearing different clothes, different make-up...I even," she paused knowing how desperate she must sound, "cut off some of my hair...it's shorter, he won't know it's me. Kelting can be there, as back-up close by, but I have an in and I can use Odette to get an introduction, I know I can!"

There was silence and Annie could feel the anxiety coursing through her body, she knew that she could do this. She'd be a better in that Kelting, she knew about the artwork, she had experience with the art scenery...

"Okay." Joan announced after a few minutes. "But, you'll follow protocol, alright! And Kelting will be there too, we'll get him in. I'm also gonna have back-up in close vicinity."

"Thank you Joan," she said exhaling. "I won't let you down," she added for sincerity.

"Good luck Annie," Joan said.

She was just about to hang up when Auggie's voice came back on.

"Annie, you still there?"

"Yes?" she said, a little puzzled.

"This is risky, be careful and...good luck." he said.

She could hear how hard this was on him, pretending that things were normal, pretending that he wasn't as emotionally invested as he was. She wanted to say something nice to him, but she knew that the others were listening in.

"Thanks," she said and hung up.

* * *

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" a man announced.

Annie didn't bother listening, instead she scanned the crowd. There were a lot of people around, she mingled, smiled and nodded towards a few people that made eye-contact. It was then that she saw Odette. She was in a sky-blue dress and looked beautiful; Annie made her way towards her. Alain didn't seem to be around which was a good thing, she'd be able to establish contact in peace. She went to stand by her. When the man who'd spoken earlier said something about the unveiling of the art, the crowd erupted and she joined in.

"Wow, this is so exciting," she said smiling brightly towards Odette. She just shot her a glance, not bothering to reciprocate. Annie focused on remembering what she'd read in Odette's file. She recalled that Odette had followed this particular artist for a few years now and that she loved the way that he always had the ability to express passion through his art; was it his passion for women, justice or simply for food.

"There's such passion in his work, don't you think?" she tried. This time Odette seemed a little more intrigued but she still eyed her suspiciously.

"Absolutely, I love the way that his art is so personal to him, it's always passionate." She then replied.

"I've followed him for years, I went to his art installment in Argentina, and it was amazing." She countered, she needed to gain Odette's trust, make her believe that she wasn't just some fluke, but that she loved art. The art installment in Argentina had been one of his first and it had been quite hard to get access too, this had to score her some points.

"Oh, really?" she said, one eyebrow cocked but her look transformed, was it envy? "So then, which installment is your favorite?" Odette asked, clearly testing her.

"I'd have to say _Mi Diamante_," she replied. "Do you know that he made it as a tribute to his wife, for their 20th anniversary?" she added.

This time she got a genuine smile from Odette.

"Do you want to come and take a closer look…I didn't catch your name." Odette said.

"It's Annie," she said "Annie Walker and I would love to."

"I'm Odette Moreau," she replied and turned to walk closer to the big podium.

"So, are you here alone?" Annie tried after a few minutes of discussing this particular art installment.

"No, my husband's here too," she said with a hint of sadness. "Unfortunately he's not that interested I'm afraid." She added.

"Not all men dedicate art installments to their wives," she said carefully, not wanting to step on any toes.

Odette gave her a smile, but it looked sad. Annie suddenly felt bad for her; she was married to a man that had this whole other identity that she didn't know about.

"So what about you Ms. Walker," for a brief moment she was reminded of Henry Wilcox, who usually addressed her the same way, but she pushed it aside. "Do you have a man in your life that shows you passion?" she asked.

"Me?" she felt nervous, or rather more so than before, knowing that Tech-Ops and maybe higher-ups were listening in. "No, I guess not..." she finally said.

"You will," Odette said sounding certain. Annie couldn't help but smile.

"So where's your husband now," Annie tried to turn the conversation back to Alain. The ideal situation would be for Odette to introduce them.

"He went over to the bar," she smirked, "I think that what he likes about this evening is the open bar."

They kept talking about love and art and soon Annie had almost forgotten why she was there, but she was instantly reminded when she saw Alain making his way towards them.

"Hello darling," Odette addressed them and he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "This is Annie Walker, she's also an art enthusiast, and she works for the Smithsonian."

"Hello," Alain said and reached out his hand in her direction. _You've killed so many, maybe not with these hands directly, but you're behind a lot of evil, she thought_ as she took his hand.

* * *

"She's doing well," Joan observed. "It doesn't seem like he's made her, that's good. Keep eyes on them and make sure that Kelting is looking out for any company that Alain might reach out to and check that Laroche is keeping tabs on the entrance." Joan added before she went out to the information center to look through some of the files on screen.

Annie was indeed doing good Auggie thought, he was worried but not much more than he usually was and he was proud too. Annie had become an excellent agent, she'd come a long way since they first met.

"Wow," Barber said and mumbled something to Stu that he couldn't make out.

"What is it?" he inquired, as he couldn't see the feed from the surveillance cameras himself.

"No, it's just that Annie looks hot...or beautiful." Barber said.

"Both." Stu agreed. "Red is definitely her color!"

Auggie felt a little conflicted, on the one hand he felt a little envy considering he couldn't see her himself but on the other hand he couldn't help but smile, he knew that Walker was beautiful and knowing that this event was black-tie and that she was apparently wearing something red, well it didn't take a genius to understand that she looked stunning. And Stu and Barber had more than confirmed it too him. He turned his focus to the audio feed instead, listening in to what was happening.

Annie was exceptionally skilled for this mission; she seemed to have no problem at all, answering all the art questions that Odette directed towards her. Things seemed to go smoothly and it wasn't until an hour later that they heard Alain get a phone call.

"I have to, excuse me ladies..."

Auggie jerked in his chair, this might be it after all the night was coming to an end. He motioned for the others to pay close attention to the video feeds. He then checked with Kelting, making him aware of what was happening and Annie's whereabouts.

"Annie excused herself now, she's going to pursue him," Stu informed a few minutes later.

"Seems like Alain is heading towards the exit," Barber narrated back "I'll notify Laroche that they're heading his way." Barber added.

Joan came in and they all seemed to hold their breath as they followed what happened on the monitors.

* * *

Annie hurried towards the exit, Alain was just about to head out, even though she was aware that agent Laroche must have eyes on him, she didn't want to lose sight of Alain. She slowed down when she saw that Alain was standing by the curb outside, as if he was waiting. It was chilly, but she didn't have time to grab her coat from the check-out closet._ If I could just get a little closer, she thought_.

She remembered what Barber had told her about the microphone range, she inched herself closer to the double doors leading out. She tried to keep out of view behind a column but with a red flow-y dress it was hard to blend into the night. She wished that she'd managed to slip a bug onto Alain instead, but she hadn't had time, instead she'd managed to put one on the side of the door frame.

Her heart started beating fast as she saw a silhouette walk towards Alain, this was it she thought. She picked up a little cam that she'd gotten from Auggie; it was small and looked more like a make-up mirror. She aimed it at the men in front of her and as she'd taken a few shots she pressed a button to send them over to the Agency.

The two men started to walk around the building; she tried her best to be quiet even though she had high heels on. She could see them wander towards the fountain, as they got closer a dull blue light cast over them. Annie realized that it would be very difficult to get closer, first off they were in plain sight and she wouldn't be able to hide anywhere and secondly, her shoes wouldn't allow her to get any closer to them without her making her presence known considering there was a lot of gravel here. Even though it was freezing, she pulled both of her shoes off and followed the outer edge of the building hoping that if she followed the edge out on one of the wings on this mansion she might just get close enough.

"Tu es en retard!" She heard Alain growl at his new companion. He was stating to whomever the other man was that he was late.

"I had to make sure that I wasn't being followed," the other man replied but in English. Alain seemed to appreciate this younger man's caution, he simply nodded. "So what do you have for me?" the younger man continued.

Alain stood quiet for a while before he started talking, as if he was assessing the moment. Annie couldn't make out all of it, but she hoped that her microphone picked up more than she could and she was sure that Auggie had some kind of technology to enhance it later if needed. She strained herself to be able to pick up what they were saying.

"The shipment can get her safely," Alain said. Annie saw Alain pick up a piece of paper; he showed this to the other man. "I'll get it on one of the freighters."

"Will it be safe?"

"Of course, I've done this before." Alain stated firmly. "I'll have the straps shipped over."

Annie couldn't believe it; this was it, wasn't it. _Strap_was a code name for guns.

She swallowed; she knew that she was in charge of the mission, so she had to call for the back-up. But something told her that there was more. She whispered over the radio, 'hold on'. She remembered the debacle when they had tried to capture Hassan Waleed, he'd also been an arms dealer and the Agency had been very anxious considering they hadn't know where he was going to hit. Annie held her breath, hoping that the two men would continue.

"I'll have it to you, but I won't send it here. D.C. is too dangerous." She heard Alain say.

"Which port isn't?" the younger man asked skepticism lacing his voice.

"I will send you all of the information, okay my friend?"

They seemed to be wrapping things up, she exhaled carefully. They had to take him in now! She radioed Kelting, Laroche and the back-up team. "Take him in," she said. From a distance she could hear the commotion coming from the entrance, they were on their way. She smiled, feeling good about herself, she'd managed helped Joan and she'd proven that she could be valuable to the Agency. She reached down to get her shoes.

It was then that she felt an explosive pain in the back of her head, she screamed out. Then it all went dark.

* * *

**A/N: **_I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please __review__ and let me know what you thought. __**Merry Christmas!**_


	10. Chapter 10 - Save Me

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Thank you again for all the encouraging words, it really means a lot! I know that you'll been curious about what happened to Annie so here goes._

* * *

**Chapter 10  
**_Save Me_

"What the _hell _just happened?" Auggie growled. It was all spiraling out of control so fast.

"They're pursuing Alain..." Barber paused, "but seems as though they noticed that Annie was missing a few minutes later and when part of the back-up team got back to the site where Annie had tried to listen in, well she was gone..." Barber swallowed, knowing that this would infuriate Auggie.

"How did it take them so long to realize that she was gone?" Auggie spat out. "Did they find any indication what happened to her?"

"Hold on, I'll check on their latest progress," Barber said, he pressed a button and started to ask question over his headset. "Okay," Barber turned towards Auggie yet again, "it seems like agent Graham was the first one back and he thought he heard a speeding car in the distance."

"That's it?" Auggie asked, feeling the adrenaline course through his body. He made a few clicks and on one of his screens appeared the pictures that Annie had snapped of the man whom Alain Moreau had spoken to. "I want this analyzed, I want to know who this man is, _now_!" He felt so angry, he wanted to shout, scream and throw things around but he knew that he had to keep his calm. He turned towards another one of his screens, hoping that Annie had activated her GPS-tracker, but it didn't seem that way and her phone was turned off. _Damn it! he thought._ And the audio feed had been interrupted, that man had surely known what to look for, he'd found Annie's microphone and taken it off her or destroyed it.

"Auggie?" he could hear Joan enter. "He won't be able to exit D.C. without us knowing it. We'll get her back, you know we will." Joan said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"He won't leave D.C. he's following Alain's directions." Arthur said.

Auggie steeled himself for whatever might come out of Arthur Campbell's mouth next, if he uttered any negative words on Annie and her handling of this mission, he'd personally kick that man's ass. Joan seemed to sense his frustration, the hand on his shoulder tightened as if to urge him to take it easy.

"What are you saying?" Joan asked Arthur.

"I'm saying that Alain is smart, he knows that he's got one of our operatives, he'll use it as a way to get himself out of this! He's going to exploit us -"

"Are you saying we shouldn't let it get to us, that he has one of our operatives? Are you saying that we're just gonna leave Annie out there?!" Auggie yelled.

"Auggie, calm down..." Joan said carefully, "why don't you just head out for some air, I'll call you the second Barber and Stu get some information about that man. Alright?" she stopped to have him confirm this. He nodded. "We won't leave her." Joan promised.

Auggie barged out of the tech-op area, he felt angry and a little desperate and while he didn't want to leave, he knew that he couldn't do anything just now, not until Barber or Stu gave him something that he could work with. His thoughts returned to the sound of Annie's scream, it had made his veins turn into ice and he could feel tears threatening to well up, he shrugged. _I will find you Walker, he thought _as he stepped out into the fresh night air. He wasn't going to lose her, not now...not again; he knew this feeling all too well. After the shooting, he'd lost her for a little while, when her heart had stopped. He kicked the air, he screamed. He hadn't even been able to tell her everything that he'd wanted.

* * *

Annie felt a blinding pain spreading from her head, she groaned. It was all dark and it took her a few minutes to realize that she was in the back of a van; she tried to move but realized that her hands were tied together with cable ties. She tried to recall what had happened, she remembered the party, Alain, the fountain, and the meet...someone had attacked her from behind, hitting her in the head. She tried to listen, but all she could hear was the engine of the car. She had no idea where she was. She looked down and saw that her pendant was missing...oh, so maybe Auggie and the others didn't know where she was either. Then she remembered Auggie's words from the hotel, the GPS-tracker, she hadn't activated it, it was still in her purse. The realization that no one might know where she was made chills run down her spine.

She didn't know how much time had passed; she wondered if they were already outside D.C. she couldn't be sure of how long she'd been out before. Her thoughts drifted to Auggie, she hadn't been able to talk to him properly about her feelings, because Henry Wilcox had ruined their night, she felt anger rip through her body. She made a mental note that if she made it out alive, she'd talk to Auggie about everything. She was a little surprised to find out that she wasn't all that scared; even if - whoever it was - that had kidnapped her might be an extremely dangerous arms dealer. She'd give Lena that, she'd toughen her up, and she had to admit that she wasn't entirely the same Annie Walker now as she'd been before Russia and the whole shooting. But just because she wasn't all that scared, didn't mean that she didn't want to get out.

After what had felt like hours, she could feel the car coming to a halt. Her thoughts started running wild, what would be her best option, fake being unconscious or get face-to-face with her capturer instantly? She opted for the latter; she could hear someone stepping out and the closing of a car door. A few seconds later the doors on the back of the van swung open. She blinked and tried to make out whoever it was standing in front of her, but it was dark.

"Oh, I see that you're awake." The voice said. It was a man and she instantly recognized his voice. It was that man whom Alain had met. "Come here," he said brusquely as he grabbed a hold of her upper arm, with his other hand he picked up a gun and held it to her temple as he released her from the cable ties. "Just do as I say, it'll make all of this easier." The man said calmly.

Annie had observed this man earlier that night and he hadn't struck her as all that strong, she wondered what her chances were. Of course, this man - whomever he was - held a gun to her head, which severely limited her choices, but she knew that he was close-by...maybe she'd be able to disarm him. But just the slightest twitch of one of her hands rewarded her with a huge blow and before she collapsed, she thought that she'd underestimated her capturer, he obviously had some training.

* * *

"Auggie!" Barber exclaimed after a while, "We finally got a hit."

Auggie tensed as he turned his attention towards Barber.

"His name is Douglas Barnes, he's French born but came to the US in 2003 when he married Maryanne Barnes and..." Barber stopped.

"What?" Auggie demanded.

"Shit," Barber whispered, but Auggie detected it immediately.

"Barber!" Auggie exhorted him to continue.

"He's special forces," Barber said, "but according to the record he's gone rouge, he defected in 1997."

Auggie blanched; in this light Annie's situation was suddenly even more dangerous.

"He was trained in France and he was really good at hand-to-hand combat," Barber continued.

When the information was relayed to Joan, they put out and APB on Douglas Barnes. Auggie felt like it was all happening so fast, but at the same time he felt as though nothing was happening at all. They hadn't caught a break yet, they weren't any closer to locating Annie and he felt so helpless, like there was nothing he could do. He pressed the button on his watch, he remembered what they'd learn at the Farm, that when it came to captivity you had an hour or so to extract the captured...it had already been well over an hour since Annie had gotten caught.

"We have him, we have Alain," Stu exclaimed a few seconds later. "Agent Kelting just confirmed that they're bringing him in."

Auggie took a deep breath, at least this was progress and it was good news.

* * *

Annie coughed. She looked around, it was dark so she couldn't make out much but after a while her eyes started to adjust. It seemed to be an empty warehouse or something like that, it was cold and she shivered. She looked down at her dress, it was torn and she was bleeding from some scrapes here and there.

"Hello?" she tried, but no one seemed to be around. She tried to move, but her hands were yet again in cable ties and tighter this time, as she'd tried to move they cut into her skin. She winced. She tried to push the thought that it was freezing out of her mind, but it was difficult. She tried to see if there was anything around her that she could use to either cut herself free or try to make sounds with to alert someone, but nothing. She was well aware that her chances were diminishing and she wanted to get out alive, she wanted to return to Auggie's arms, she missed him.

"We need to talk," the voice was back. She strained her eyes and saw him come in through a steel door, he came closer and what made Annie worried was that he'd proven to be a good fighter and that he was so calm.

"Who are you?" Annie tried.

"No need for that now," the man said. "You on the other hand need to tell me who _you _are. But I'm already guessing that you're CIA".

Annie remained quiet, she wasn't about to pour her heart out to this man.

"Just tell me, spare yourself some injuries," he offered, equally calm. Annie thought back to the meet earlier that evening and she couldn't believe that this man standing in front of her now was the same man, this man was so composed and different from the slightly erratic person he'd been earlier. Had it all been fake, had Alain warned him, had her cover been blown then?

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.

His boot kicked her and as she couldn't move, she felt the full force of the blow and screamed. The fear started to settle in as she realized that he wouldn't step down and her memory conjured up the images of Jai's sustained injuries the last time.

"Let me try again," the man in front of her said, "who are you?"

She remained quiet and chose not to antagonize him this time. He stared at her, waiting for her answer. He didn't seem fazed by her lack of cooperation.

"Okay, start with your name," he said.

She said nothing.

This time the blows kept coming, she tried to not scream but it was impossible and she knew that she had no more options, she had to start talking.

"What is...what's...yo- your goal? Wha- what do you...want?" she stuttered after a few minutes, her whole body ached and she could feel the taste of blood in her mouth, she spat it out on the floor.

"I'm assuming you have your connections and I need to get in contact with State." the man said calmly and even added a smile. "So are you gonna help me?"

"What if I don't?" she asked, while already knowing the answer.

"Then I'll kill you and I'll do my best without you and I'm sure that will work too, _but_if I could just get your help, it'll make it all easier and I think you'd actually prefer that." He stated matter-of-factly.

She nodded.

* * *

Auggie tried to keep up with what was happening, both Arthur and Joan had gone to interrogate Alain, while he and Barber had tried to find something on Douglas Barnes that might give them a clue as to where he was keeping Annie, they had confirmed earlier that Barnes had rented a van tonight _and_that a van matching that description had been sighted speeding not far from where the event had been held; so all evidence indicated that he was behind this. Stu was busy keeping an eye on the APB, but evidently there hadn't been any hits yet and the GPS-tracker of the rented van had been disabled.

Auggie sank back into his chair and went through the information on Barnes yet again, they'd tried to reach his wife but so far no luck. His phone went off; it was an anonymous caller the mechanical voice told him.

"Anderson," he said.

"Auggie?"

His heart almost stopped, he could hear the pain in Annie's voice and the trembling let him know that she was crying. He had to bite down on his tongue so not to say anything too emotional, even though he wanted to.

"Annie, are you okay?" he exclaimed. He motioned for the other guys to try and trace the call.

"Yes. He wants to talk to State. Please tell Joan to set it up," she replied weakly.

He told Stu to go and get Joan and Arthur and as Stu bolted out the doors Auggie returned his attention to the phone call.

"Annie, is there anything you can tell me?"

She didn't reply and he figured that Barnes was there too, maybe even listening in. He sighed, not knowing what to say. Then both Joan and Arthur came in through the doors.

"Annie?" Joan asked. Auggie could hear the worry in her voice; she cared deeply about Annie too.

"Joan. He wants to talk to State." Annie said, her voice drained of emotions, she sounded empty Auggie thought.

Joan gave Stu some directions and then she said. "Auggie, have the call re-routed to my desk." She turned her heel.

"But..." he tried to protest even though he was well aware that negotiations like these were something Joan and Arthur handled themselves.

"You're needed here." Joan said simply before the door closed behind her.

"Auggie! We've gotten a hit on the phone!" Barber exclaimed.

He pressed a button a dialed in Kelting.

"He's holding Annie hostage in a warehouse district outside of Baltimore, it's off _Pulaski Highway," _he sent the coordinates over to Kelting before he leaned back into his chair. He prayed that Annie was okay, but he knew that as long as Joan kept him on the phone, Annie was safe. He could hear the echo of her empty voice in his head and his heart broke, he'd wanted to keep her safe but hadn't managed.

* * *

**A/N: **_I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please_ review!


	11. Chapter 11 - The Aftermath

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Okay, so I know that you're all dying for an Annie/Auggie reunion. But will they get one?_

* * *

**Chapter 11  
**_The Aftermath_

He was typing up a report together with Stu and Barber, they knew that Joan would ask for it soon enough and since they had been there all day and night with practically no breaks, they thought they'd get a head start. Auggie mostly wanted to be done so that he could be there for Annie as soon as he got it confirmed that she was okay. He tried not to think about the state that she'd be in, since he feared that it wouldn't be good. He felt anger rise as he thought about what Barnes might have done to her, but he had to keep it together for a while longer.

"How much longer do you think they'll be?" Barber asked and even though Auggie couldn't see if Barber pointed in any particular direction, he figured that Barber was referring to Joan and Arthur.

"I don't know," he answered, "but as long as Joan is keeping Barnes on the phone, he can't do anything to Annie."

"At least Pulaski Highway isn't too far from here," Stu joined in.

He just nodded, it wasn't all that far, but he wouldn't be calm until he knew for sure that Annie was safe and back in his arms. His thoughts were interrupted a few minutes later by someone walking into Tech-Ops and he could immediately tell that it was Joan.

"Joan, why aren't you still on the phone with him?" Auggie asked his heart racing in his chest. He still hadn't heard anything from Kelting, so he wasn't there yet. Which meant hat Barnes could get to Annie now..." he didn't dare to finish his thought.

"He hung up Auggie, there wasn't anything that I could do, but Kelting will be there in a few minutes." Joan tried to reassure him, but he could hear a hint of panic in her voice.

"So what did State say?" Auggie asked, desperate not to think about all the negative scenarios forming in his mind.

"Um, Auggie..." Joan started and Auggie knew even before she'd finished her sentence that he wasn't going to like whatever came next. "You might want to sit down," she added. A few hours earlier he might have snapped something and just told her to continue, but he could feel the weight of the day on him and he sank down in his chair. He could hear the sounds of feet shuffling, Stu and Barber were heading out, probably to give them privacy.

"What is it Joan?" he asked.

"Barnes cut a deal with State..." she paused, "State feels like they've got bigger fish to fry and we wanted Annie back unharmed."

"But we haven't gotten her back yet!" Auggie burst out, "after he hung up on you he might've killed her." Auggie voiced his worst fear.

He could hear Joan sigh; he knew that her silence meant that she wasn't sure of the outcome either and that she couldn't deny what he'd just said.

"State wants to be able to get to Alain, they're afraid that he's gonna get himself out of this, but with Barnes they might have a chance." Joan added.

"So what you're saying, basically, is that a dangerous arms dealer might walk and that the man who took Walker, _our_operative, is going to walk too?!" He slammed his fist into the desk.

"Auggie, I know that you care about Annie but this is our chance to get her back. Kelting will be there and things _will _work out." Joan said.

Auggie just shook his head; he just wanted the phone to ring. He wanted Kelting to confirm that everything was okay. That Annie was okay.

"This is just so _obscene_," Auggie said frustration dripping from his voice.

"I know..." Joan said.

The silence was interrupted by Auggie's phone, he immediately answered.

"Anderson."

"We're here now, but there's a lot of area to cover...we checked your coordinates, but it was empty." Kelting reported.

"He might have moved her, just look around and call me the second you know more." Auggie replied.

"Sure thing," Kelting answered.

* * *

"So Annie Walker...that's your name, I can't imagine that'd be so hard to say." Barnes said.

Annie just stared at him, she'd made out enough of that phone call to know that he'd probably walk out of there a free man, it made her sick. She also realized that if he'd been able to cut himself a deal, he didn't really need her…or did he? What if he killed her and then ran? But he didn't seem to be in a hurry, so maybe he was actually going to be smart. Annie started to feel tired, her body hurt in ways she couldn't even understand. She could feel her eyes shut close. All her energy felt drained, she felt dizzy.

She seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness. She could hear sounds, commotion, but she couldn't place it, she wasn't sure it was real.

"Walker?" a voice said close to her, she thought that she recognized it but then she felt her eyes close yet again and the darkness felt comforting.

* * *

"Auggie, I guess you're staying?" Barber asked carefully.

"Yeah, I'm waiting to hear from Kelting." he replied.

"I understand. I really hope that Annie's okay. I can't believe all the things she's been through lately..." Barber said, he sounded sad.

He couldn't help but smile. Barber was a nice guy and it made him feel a little better that Annie had another person in her corner.

"Thank you for caring Barber," he said.

"Don't worry about it. Just, send Annie my best when you see her." Barber added as he headed out for the night.

He nodded. It was only a few minutes later that his phone went off, it startled him but he basically threw himself on the call button to take the call.

"Kelting?" he asked.

"Auggie is Joan there?"

"I'm here agent Kelting," Joan said joining in.

"We're bringing Barnes in so that he can help out with Moreau."

"Good." Joan said. "What about agent Walker?" she added shortly thereafter.

"We've got her too, but..." the pause made Auggie's heart almost stop as he waited for Kelting to continue. "She's on her way to Georgetown Hospital. When we found her she was barely conscious and she'd sustained quite a lot of injuries. Unfortunately I don't know more." Kelting finished.

"Alright," Joan said and asked for a few other details before they hung up.

_She's alive, _Auggie thought. He turned his head towards Joan and waited for instructions, but he'd already grabbed his cane that had been leaning towards the wall behind him. He wanted to go to the hospital.

"I'll drive you," Joan said as she understood his urge to get to the hospital.

As they drove in silence Auggie prayed that Annie was going to be okay, but he couldn't help but wonder how much she could take. After all she'd sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest just a few weeks ago. After what had felt like an eternity, Joan parked her car and together they made their way towards the emergency entrance.

"Hi, I'm August Anderson and I'm Annie Walker's emergency contact," Auggie started to explain to one of the nurses at the nurse's station when a female voice uttered his name.

"Auggie?" he turned towards the voice.

"It's me, Nurse Joy." She offered.

He nodded and gave her a weak smile, it was the same nurse that had helped him the last time that Annie had been in here; she'd helped him with a list of Annie's belongings.

"I'll show you to her room, but she's still unconscious." Joy said as she guided Auggie and Joan towards room 2030.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Joan asked.

"She suffered a blow to her head, which seems to have resulted in a mild concussion. Also, she seems to have been kicked around pretty badly..." she turned quiet as if assessing whether she should really continue, but Joan must have motioned for her to do so, since she did. "She has a few broken ribs and some fractured ones. The rest, well it looks worse than it is. She's gonna get a lot of bruises and she'll need to take it easy for a few weeks, but she's going to be fine." They stopped as they reached the room.

"Thank you," Joan said. Auggie could hear her open the door. When they approached the hospital bed he could hear Joan gasp. His heart constricted and in that moment he was actually happy that he couldn't see Annie, apparently what the nurse had said was accurate and if it made Joan gasp...well, needless to say, it must look bad.

"Oh, Annie..." Joan said as she stepped closer to one of her best operatives. "Auggie, why don't I get a hold of her doctor?" Joan said then and he just nodded. When he heard the door close behind him, he stepped closer to Annie's bed and after a moment he found her hand, he grabbed it and squeezed. It was all way too familiar, the shooting…everything came back and he could feel a tear running down one of his cheeks.

"Annie..." he started. He didn't dare to touch her elsewhere; since he didn't want to accidentally hurt her. "I thought I'd lost you. I hate not knowing whether you're going to be okay. Please, just open your eyes...there's still a few things that I haven't told you. I was too scared..." he took a deep breath. "Please, Walker...I need you, just open your eyes. I need to tell you that I love you."

* * *

He groaned, his neck was all stiff, he must have fallen asleep but he didn't know for how long. He pressed the button on his watch, it was already morning. He found Annie's hand yet again, but still no reaction. He decided to stretch his legs and maybe find some coffee. As he stepped out into the corridor he first felt a little disoriented but soon found his way to the nearest coffee machine, put in some coins and fumbled with one of the paper cups.

"Hey, you need some help?"

He turned towards the voice and smiled. It was the nurse again.

"Yes, please. It almost seems as though these machines weren't developed for blind people," he quipped. She giggled.

"Tell you what, why don't you come with me, I'll get you a real cup of coffee, you look like you need it. Plus, Dr. Lerman will probably check in on Ms. Walker soon anyway."

"That's very nice of you, thank you." he said.

He was shown to a little table and he sat down on one of the chairs, after a few minutes she was back with two cups and just the smell of coffee made him feel a little better.

"I'm Theresa, by the way," she said as she settled down opposite him.

"Thank you for the coffee Theresa," he said "I guess I'm here a little too often if the nurses can recognize me and offer me coffee." he offered her a smile.

"Seems that way," she said finishing her sentence but he could hear the curiosity in her voice, she wanted to ask him about it, but she didn't. For a moment he pondered what he'd say if she did ask why he'd been here twice in the last couple of weeks with the same woman? But his thoughts were interrupted by her.

"That girl...is she your wife?" she asked shyly.

"No," he said smiling at the thought of Annie being his wife. "She's...well, it's complicated. But the short version is that she's a colleague." He explained, unsure as to why he was opening up to this woman, she seemed nice enough but it wasn't really like him.

"You seem to care about her a lot, I'm sure things will work out." She said.

"I do and thank you."

"She's lucky to have someone looking out for her the way that you do."

"I'm the lucky one," he reassured. "Well, thank you for the coffee", he said as he stood up. "I think I'll try to get back, I wanted to ask Dr. Lerman a few questions," he explained.

"Of course," she said. "I'll take you back to her room."

As they got back Dr. Lerman was just exiting.

"Hi doctor, how's she doing?" he asked feeling nervous all of a sudden.

"She seems okay, but we're gonna take her up for a CT now, we need to check for internal bleeding."

Auggie blanched.

"We just need to make sure that everything's okay," Dr. Lerman continued. "It is standard procedure after a trauma like this."

Auggie nodded. He decided to take this opportunity to give Joan a call; she might want an update he thought. They spoke for a while and agreed that when Annie woke up no one were to tell her about the development concerning Barnes, there was no need in upsetting her so soon. When he got back, Annie was back in her room. He hoped that it was a good sign and he went to stand by her side.

"Annie, I need you to wake up, please..." he said, his voice all coarse.

"Auggie?" her voice was barely audible.

"Annie?" his heart started pounding. "Oh my god…" he found her hand. "How do you feel?" he asked carefully.

"Water..." she whispered.

He pressed the call button and in a matter of minutes a nurse was there, she also asked Annie a couple of questions and he felt relieved to hear that Annie seemed to be able to answer them. When they were alone again he pulled the chair up to sit close to her.

"Annie, what the hell..." he started, "I was so worried about you! I wasn't sure that you were gonna make it..." his voice came out all thick and it was filled with emotions. All the feelings that he'd repressed during the day came bubbling up to the surface.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered. He could hear her try to shift in the bed and winced when he could hear the pain that she was in, she was panting.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked carefully.

"Just stay here with me..." she managed.

"Always," he replied. He stood up and placed a kiss on her forehead, carefully so not to hurt her.

"Auggie..." she gasped.

"Hey, take it easy," he begged, "rest." He hated that she was in pain. Who the hell kicked a woman this way?

"But I need to...I'm sorry for our date night." Her voice was shaky and quite weak.

"Walker, you don't ever need to say that you're sorry, especially not about things like that. I'm just so happy that you're alive, that you're okay..." he breathed.

"I just...I feel the same way you do. I think I have for a long time...but the timing was never right, until now." Annie said.

He could feel a pressure lift from his chest; he didn't bother to control the tears that were yet again streaming down. Even though he hated that they were in a hospital, that she needed to be there, that she was hurt...he felt happier than he'd ever felt before.

"Annie," he said carefully. "I love you." He knew that this wasn't the optimal setting, but he didn't care anymore. Timing was everything and he needed to say those words to her now. Nor did he care if she wasn't ready to say it back yet, she'd just told him that she had feelings for him as well, he didn't need anything else. So when he heard a whisper coming from Annie's bed, his heart swell as he could make out the faint sound from her bed.

"I love you too..." she said.

* * *

**A/N: **_So yeah, they got their moment. Sorry if I mislead you in the beginning, but I just wanted to keep it interesting. So all you Annie/Auggie fan out there, lets hear the reviews and if you're not an Annie/Auggie fan, please review anyway ;)!_


	12. Chapter 12 - Secrets, Revelations

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So, now I'm back! I know it's been a while, but I hope that you've all enjoyed your Christmases and New Years! I've missed you guys, please continue to read. In the last Chapter Annie was sent to the hospital and in the end had her reunion with Auggie! They both, finally, said that they loved each other. But things aren't over. It's far from over in fact._

So here goes.

* * *

**Chapter 12  
**_Secrets, Revelations and Truths_

_A few days later…_

She opened her eyes, the sun filtered through the curtains casting a golden light over the room. Annie was happy to be back in her own bed, but she had to admit that it wasn't the easiest thing, taking care of herself. Any movement at all hurt; thankfully she had gotten a prescription for painkillers that helped her through the worst of it. She tried to ease her way out of bed, but cringed, it wasn't easy. Finally she managed to get to the kitchen where she made herself a cup of coffee. She took her cup and headed back towards the guest house and settled down in her arm chair.

For the last couple of days she'd been home alone, she was under a strict order from Joan not to come back to Langley until she was properly healed. Annie had to admit that she'd loved those first two days, she'd gotten to relax for real and a nurse from the hospital had come by to help her set up, making getting in and out of the shower easier and placing things so that she wouldn't need to do any rash movements to get whatever she might need. Of course, the highlights of those two days had been Auggie; he'd swung by after work and they had been able to enjoy each other's company outside of work, which had been really nice. She smiled as she thought about him.

But today, the third day, she couldn't help but feel a little restless. She glanced around the room wondering what she could do to keep herself occupied until this evening when she hoped that Auggie would be stopping by again. It wasn't like she could really go out and enjoy her free time, being on her feet for too long wasn't comfortable. She found the remote control and zapped through a few channels but nothing really caught her attention. It was then that the thought of Henry Wilcox's file hit her, maybe she'd take these days off work as an opportunity to get closer to some answers, she'd thought about telling Auggie - after all maybe he could help her - but she knew that it was sensitive and what she knew was nothing that she could spring on someone, especially not Auggie.

* * *

Annie was settled down yet again; she'd manage to get the file and was now rummaging through it all for the thousandth time. She knew that something was off, but she wasn't exactly sure what it was. She glanced at the numerical at the bottom of each page. All 10 pages seemed to be accounted for. But, somehow it felt incomplete. She winced as she reached for her computer, she pulled up the database, hoping to get the kind of access she needed, but no such luck. _Damn it, she thought. I need to get back to Langley._

* * *

"Auggie!" Joan exclaimed as she stepped into Tech-Op. "I need your help with something."

"Sure, what's wrong?" He could tell that whatever she needed help with was something important, Joan usually kept her calm, but now he could hear the urgency in her voice. He heard Joan closing the blinds; _okay something was definitely off he thought._

"Here," Joan placed something in his hand and he instantly knew what it was, a flash drive. He didn't ask, he just took it and inserted it into his computer. A few seconds later a lot of information, files and codes flickered on his screen. He moved his fingers over the Braille keyboard, trying to sort through the information.

"What's this?" he asked perplexed. This was a lot of code; it would take him quite a while to run diagnostics on this.

"This was a hack, attempted towards one of our drones; we have to neutralize it immediately. I need you on this." Joan said. "This is _not _good Auggie and we're unsure who it is, I got it from FBI, they're passing it onto us, and they think that whoever released it might hit something else or try again so we're looking at this as cyber terrorism. I need your help, this is your world, try to ask around - but discreetly - none of this can get out. Do you understand?"

"Yes, absolutely," he mumbled. He scanned through the code, he didn't recognize it. He'd have to do some research. "I'll keep you updated."

"Good, don't tell anyone about this, alright," Joan said as she stepped out.

Auggie started running diagnostics and then started looking around for clues as to who might have written it. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before, but something - call it a hunch - made him feel like some of it was...familiar.

* * *

Annie stepped into the busy DPD, she cast a glance towards Joan's office, but the curtains were drawn. She hurried, to the best of her ability, to her desk. No one seemed to care that she was there, things were heated and while she was curious to find out what had everybody so engrossed in their work, she knew that this was the ideal situation. She pulled up the database to search for a copy of the same document that Henry Wilcox had given her, this time she'd remembered to turn off the volume on her computer so that no one else would notice if she was denied access.

Annie remembered what she'd learned through Barber and Auggie, about file trees and searching for a document. And she almost squealed when she got lucky a few minutes later, her heart raced as she clicked to open the document. Frankly she was a little surprised that she'd found the file so easily, considering this was something that Henry Wilcox had shown her in confidentiality - or whatever his intentions had been - but she also knew that she'd found it because she was looking for it. It was an older file, dating back to 2006. She took a breath before she started scanning the pages. It all seemed to be in order; nothing indicated that Henry had given her a false copy. She was just about to close it down when she saw the page indicator; this file had 13 pages, not 10. But when she found her way to page 11 and scrolled down to page 13, her heart dropped. The last part of the file was redacted; the pages were filled with black markings. She sighed and she couldn't help but feel angry. What was Henry hiding? Did it matter, had Henry seen these pages? As she closed down her computer she felt more confused than ever.

"Annie?" She'd just grabbed all of her things when she heard Joan's voice behind her. "What are you doing here?" Annie could tell that Joan wasn't happy; she steeled herself for the confrontation as she turned around.

"Oh, hi Joan," she replied, offering Joan a bright smile. "I know, I shouldn't be here -" she started, but Joan interrupted her.

"That's right Annie; I gave you a direct order to stay put until you were properly healed." Joan said. Annie had a feeling that Joan had something else on her mind too that bothered her.

"I'm sorry, it's December 1st," she offered. "And you know how we have to change passwords every month and it's nothing I can do from home..." She knew that she was only treading water and possibly making her boss even angrier than she already was. "It's just that I usually do it at the beginning of every month so that I won't forget." She added quickly. But she knew that Joan wasn't accepting it, her gaze was icy.

"Don't patronize me Annie."

Annie quickly tried a different tactic, one that held some truth to it.

"Okay, I'm sorry...that was just an excuse. I just needed to get out of the house Joan, I'm going stir-crazy." Joan's expression softened ever so slightly.

"Annie, just go home alright? I need you to get better."

"Yes Joan," she said and she was just about to walk away when she decided to asked "have you gotten any closer to Alain?" Auggie had finally told her about what had happened and she hadn't been happy about it, but now she just wanted Alain to get what he deserved. She decided that she needed to forget about Barnes, for her own good.

"We're working on it," Joan said. But Annie could sense that there was more to it, though she decided not to push. "Annie, you should check in with Andrew again." Annie didn't feel like sitting down with her therapist, but she nodded.

"Thank you Joan."

"Go home Annie," Joan repeated, already walking away from her. Annie couldn't help but smile, it was okay and she'd already gotten what she came for anyway. She then shot a glance over to the Tech-Op area, her smile got brighter. But she was a little thrown off by the curtains; she'd never seen them closed before.

"Auggie?" she called out, due to the curtains, she decided not to enter without his permission.

"Annie?" She could hear the surprise in his voice.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course," she could hear his voice coming from the other side of the door. As she got the green light she stepped into Tech-Op and gasped as she saw all of the screens active in the little room and a lot of stuff was flickering on the screens. She recognized the procedure on one of the screens; Auggie was running some kind of diagnostic. She recognized it because he'd showed her a diagnostics run when they'd gone to Barcelona together.

"Are you okay, is anything wrong?" She could hear the worry in his voice, the concern, and her heart melted. He was so sweet to her, she felt lucky.

"No, I'm okay," she replied quickly, hoping that she sounded reassuring. I'm gonna have lunch with Reva." she said. She knew that the whole password bit and her getting bored at home wasn't gonna cut it with Auggie. "But I wanted to see you." She added.

"That's sweet," he said and sounded a little brighter. But she could tell that something was up, his hair was disheveled.

"Are _you _okay?" She asked instead.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm..." he paused, "just going through some stuff for Joan." He stopped and it was obvious to Annie that he wasn't going to say anything else. She made a mental note of asking again later, when he was calmer.

"You're not the only worrier around here you know," she said using her matter-of-fact voice on him.

"Oh, really?" he said and she could recognize her Auggie again. She relaxed a little. He reached out his hand towards her, as she took it she stepped closer. "You don't have to worry, I'm okay, really. It's just time sensitive." He added. She nodded, she knew that time was a luxury especially at the CIA.

"I'll let you get back to it." She said and was about to turn around when she felt him pulling her down onto his knees. They shared a quick kiss. "I could do this forever," she whispered.

"Me too," he sighed, "but unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to make it over to your place tonight, this is gonna take a while."

"It's okay," she said even though she wished that he could come over. She was well aware of her own little project and she'd need time alone to be able to get closer to some answers.

"Hey," he said catching her attention, "I'm sorry. But I'll make it up to you this weekend, my place and I'll cook?"

She smiled. "Well, when you say it like that, how can I resist?"

"Oh, no one can escape my charm," Auggie quipped. She swatted him lightly on the shoulder and he smirked in reply.

"Have a nice lunch, and tell Reva I said hi," Auggie said before she walked out.

"I will," she replied.

* * *

She was in her car on her way home again; she'd actually called to see if Reva could have that lunch with her. Being a spy she'd learned the value of having a good cover, but it had turned out that Reva was swamped with stuff and had to take a rain check. Annie had to admit though, she didn't mind, she had a lot on her mind to say the least. And she was sure that her cover would remain intact anyway.

She'd just parked her car when her cell phone rang.

"Walker," she answered.

"Ms. Walker. I thought that I'd made myself clear, that you weren't supposed to ask questions, that's not what I need you to do."

"Well, Mr. Wilcox, you said that I could trust that everything in that file was accurate, but it wasn't. You lied." She spat out in response.

"I didn't lie I gave you everything you needed in order to proceed with this mission." Henry said, ice dripping from his every word.

"But I don't get it...why would -" she started but Henry interrupted her.

"Okay Ms. Walker...you're clearly not going to stop digging around. Why don't we meet up tonight, Vesta at eight?"

She wished he'd stop insisting on going back to that place, _she_ certainly didn't want to go back there, but she was too curious not to, besides she didn't want to give off the impression that she was scared or uncomfortable.

"Fine," she said and this time she hung up on him before he had the chance to do the same to her.

* * *

Auggie felt his stomach growl, he pressed the button on his watch, it was already 7.30 and he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He'd been completely drawn into the work of this hacker, but so far he hadn't been able to make out who was behind it. He opened up the IRC-chat to check if he'd gotten any replies, he'd sent parts of the code to people he trusted, to see if they recognized it. But so far, he hadn't gotten anything. He decided to take a break; he needed something to eat anyway. The cafeteria downstairs was already closed, but he remembered that he had saved a lunch box in the kitchen one time when he'd gone to have lunch with Annie instead. He opened up the freezer and easily found his box with the Braille tape stuck to it. While he waited for his food to heat up he picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons.

"Hi Auggie," he could hear a strain in her voice. He was just about to ask if she was in pain when she explained. "Sorry, I just dropped something."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine Auggie, you don't need to worry; besides I'm staying put. Joan already lectured me today." She said.

"Well, that's good. But it was nice to see you, I'm sorry that I can't come over tonight." He suddenly longed for her touch and the sweet smell of her lotion that she used whenever she'd cleaned herself up after a workday.

"It's okay; I think I'll watch a movie or something. I'm sure I can find one that you won't mind if I watch it myself." She said.

He smiled. "I'm sure you can find a chick-flick that I won't mind not watching."

They continued to talk for a while and just when they were about to hang up he arched his eyebrow as he made out the unmistakable sound of a car horn.

"Love you, talk to you later." She'd said just seconds after and then she was gone. He hadn't even had the chance to say 'I love you too' or ask her about the car. _Annie, what are you up to now he thought. _She'd been in the hospitals only days ago and now she was going on car rides at night and lying to him. He felt both confused and irritated.

_Love you…_

That's when it hit him, the code! Gone were the thoughts of food, he knew the DPD well, so he practically ran back to Tech-Op. On his screen he managed to get up a search field for the code and wrote down the sequence. As he got but one hit, he knew exactly who was behind this code. A memory overtook him:

_"I love you," he said, cupping her beautiful face. Those brown eyes were so beautiful and he could truly get lost in them._

_"Do you now." She smirked at him and he smiled back._

_He knew that she wasn't much for sharing feelings like this; she'd always been quite guarded. At first he'd thought that it had something to do with him. But as time went by, he learned more about her and he knew that this was just a part of her. They'd been together almost a year and if everything went well his 'close and continuing' would be approved and they could stay together forever._

_"Well, Auggie," she continued, "I could write it to you in code." She quipped, her laughter filled the room. She was lying on their bed, her hair fanned out around her, she was beautiful._

_"Now we're talking," he replied smiling. "You know I love it when you speak geek. So how would you write it?"_

_"Come on, I'll show you," she said giggling as she stepped out of bed. He followed._

* * *

"Henry, why didn't you just tell me about the whole file? Have you seen the blacked out parts?" She asked, eager to get him to start talking.

"Easy. Ms. Walker, I told you I'd explain it all to you, just let me do it my way, okay?" he said firmly.

She nodded.

"But just to be clear, when I've told you this, you're not to ask another question, alright? And like before, I want you to keep this to yourself." He added.

She didn't bother to reply; instead she stirred her tea and waited for him to continue.

"Okay, well as you know in the folder that I showed you...the first pages show that the CIA got Intel about what was going on in Iraq in 2006, when the file was created. The latter pages show continuing information, speculations about a dangerous terrorist named _Afran Felat Khani_, also known as _Jack of Diamonds _of the Terrorist Deck." Henry Wilcox paused as he took a sip of his coffee.

Annie shuddered upon hearing that name; it was the man who'd been responsible for blinding Auggie. She kept listening, so far this was information that she'd gathered herself, but she knew that there was more.

"The Agency tried to keep track of Khani, gathering Intel to persecute him. But in 2007 Khani dropped of our radar, it was as if he'd turned into a ghost. We tried to get information about it, we had assets in Iraq but no one had heard about him. Later on Arthur - who was now Director of Clandestine Affairs, after me - got Intel that Khani was posing as an American soldier. Things got heated at the Agency I can tell you and some people didn't believe that the Agency should act on that Intel. Around this time, I talked to my asset, the former Mukhabarat that I had you do the drop with. When I sent him a picture of Khani, he said that he knew of him but that the name he now used was Nasir and he was an Iraqi soldier, thus he was not infiltrating. I went to Arthur with this information and he was desperate to go after Nasir. But it was too dangerous; this man had a lot of blood on his hands." He paused again.

Annie tried to grasp it all, so Arthur knew about Khani being Nasir, but how did Auggie fit into all of this? But she didn't want to push Henry, so she sat there patiently waiting for him to continue his story.

"Arthur knew about August Anderson's denied 'close and continuing' with Natasha Petrovna and knew that he had an in. He decided to send in August, in hope to get closer to Khani. On this mission to Iraq August served in an Army Special Forces unit, attached to the 82nd Airborne Division and was ranked Captain. Due to Arthur's connection with General Oubash, August got placed in a unit where he, Jason, Chris, Billy and Nasir operated together, Nasir acted as the group's translator -"

"And Auggie never knew?" Annie couldn't help but ask she needed to know this, after all this was about Auggie.

"No, he never did. But everything seemed to be running smoothly for a while," Henry continued, "until Arthur found out about Jack of Diamonds. Arthur then realized that Jack of Diamonds was more important; he got a report from General Oubash announcing that he'd given the unit a green light to find and kill Jack of Diamonds. Arthur okayed this maybe because he owed General Oubash for arranging August's unit. But Arthur did this _all the while knowing..." _Henry had put emphasis on that last part and Annie steeled herself for whatever came next. "…that Nasir had plans to kill the others in his unit. There was chatter from sources, sources that also had an interest in capturing Nasir. My sources confirmed that Nasir had been ordered to use a bomb, but Arthur still signed off and okayed General Oubash's mission for the unit to go after Jack of Diamonds."

Annie could barely breathe.

"So what you're saying is," she tried, "is that Arthur endangered Auggie knowingly?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. The black marked pages in the end, that I didn't give to you contains Arthur's signature, signing off on this mission."

"That's absurd, why would he do that?" She gasped.

"Oh, Ms. Walker, haven't you learned about the bureau's politics yet? Arthur was new at his job, he needed to keep me at a distance, and he wanted to prove himself. But that's not all Ms. Walker. In fact, I know that Joan Campbell also signed off on this." He smirked.

Annie wanted to throw up, not only because of the absurd thought of both Joan and Arthur signing off on a mission like this, endangering Auggie and the others like that. The fact that Henry Wilcox sat across the table from her, smiling, also made her sick. This couldn't be right, she definitely couldn't buy that Joan had signed off on that mission, she must have been kept in the dark about the real intentions Annie reasoned. She knew how close Joan and Auggie were.

"Ms. Walker, the problem now is that we have to prove this. Arthur Campbell doesn't deserve to be in the position his is in now, he's judgment is powered too much by greed."

_You're the one to talk, Annie thought._

"But while I've seen the redacted file before it was redacted, I don't have a copy, that's where my asset and former Mukhabarat, comes in, he's going to help us retrieve a copy from the Iraqi's."

Annie swallowed, this was all too much! And even if this was true, how could she turn against Arthur and Joan? Especially Joan, she'd been there for her so many times. But it was about Auggie too, she loved him and he deserved to know what had happened to him and why.

* * *

He'd thought about leaving a message for Joan, but he still had time and something within him told him that he needed to reach out to Tash first; after all she'd been the one reaching out to him. He needed to know what this was all about. He felt puzzled; a hack towards a drone wasn't Tash's usual target. But he knew that she was against government control and in a way drones were a part of said control. He had to give it to her though, she'd evolved, she'd always been a great programmer though but this was something else. She was smart; she knew that if she'd used her normal way of coding, it would've gotten flagged. The Agency knew about Tash, but this...had kept her in the shadows. He couldn't help but smile. He was just about to call her when his phone vibrated, it was Annie.

"Hi Auggie, I'm sorry for calling so late," she said sweetly.

"That's okay, I'm still at Langley, but I think I've just made a breakthrough." He replied.

"That's great Auggie. What did you find out?" She asked.

"It wasn't anything big; Joan just wanted me to run a diagnostic on a code that Pilar sent over," he said. He hadn't even hesitated. He'd used Pilar aka Red Rover's name, since Annie knew about her codes, so it'd serve as a good cover.

"Well, that's good…" There was something about her voice that was different; worry coursed through him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's nothing, I'm just tired. I miss you..." she whispered. He smiled.

"I miss you too Annie," he said.

"I'm sorry for being so short to you earlier...I just...I understand if you're mad at me."

"No, it's okay, don't apologize." He tried to reassure her.

"I love you Auggie," she said, her voice filled with emotion.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" he asked again, not convinced.

"I just need you..." she said sounding a little shy.

"Do you want me to come over; I can pick this up tomorrow?" He asked, missing her too, feeling the same kind of need that she felt.

"Yes, please." She said, her voice now shaking.

"I'll be right there."

"Auggie?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Again I'm sorry..."

They ended their conversation and when he got into a car to get to Annie's house he picked up his cell phone and searched for Tash's number. He needed to call her; he needed her to know that he'd figured it out and that the CIA was onto her. But before he pressed 'call', he thought that _Annie didn't have to say that she was sorry, yes he'd been a little crossed with her for lying about watching a movie when he'd clearly heard a car…but she wasn't the only one who'd been lying tonight. _

* * *

**A/N:** _I hope you all liked this chapter, they're becoming harder to write, as I'm trying to get the missions accurate as well as this whole Henry Wilcox business, I want it to feel believable to all of you CA fans out there. Let me know what you think please. Just post a quick __review __it'll make me so happy!_

p.s EXPLANATION: **The whole thing about Tash's code, was that the memory that overtook Auggie was a memory about him and Tash when they were still together. And in the memory, he had said that he loved her, but she hadn't replied anything. But she offered to say it in programming (geek) code and when Annie had told Auggie that she loved him before hanging up, it hit Auggie that the code might be Tash's - he'd felt that something had been familiar with it. And so he went back to his computer (or ran rather) and he'd done a search in the programming code for that sequence that she'd made for him, the way that she'd told him that she loved him too. And he got a hit, thus confirming that it was indeed Tash who'd written the code. I just thought I'd make myself clear, if it wasn't already ;).**


	13. Chapter 13 - The First Weekend - Pt 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So, to sum it up. Auggie now knows that Natasha Petrovna wants to get his attention, but what does she want? And Annie is on the edge, unsure how to tell Auggie about Henry Wilcox's file. How will he react? And what if Auggie gets a proposition that he doesn't know what to do with? Will it change things? This is Annie and Auggie's first weekend together, both off work. But how will it end?_

* * *

**Chapter 13  
**_The First Weekend - Pt. 1_

Auggie shifted carefully in bed, he could feel the warmth of Annie's body beside him. He smiled, he could hear her breathe in a peaceful rhythm and for once he felt like he could protect her. He wanted her to be peaceful like this all the time. He slowly eased out of bed, he didn't want to wake her up, and he had some things to take care of. He'd looked forward to their first weekend together, neither of them was expected at Langley, but he needed to put his mind at ease first. Yesterday he'd found Tash's message to him, but he didn't know why she'd contacted him that way, but whatever it was, she wanted his attention. He hadn't talked to Joan yet, but he knew that she expected an update today. But before he could give it to her, he needed some answers, but to get them he needed to get a hold of Tash. He'd tried a few times last night, but no luck.

After fumbling around a little he found his jeans and retrieved his cell phone, he pulled his pants on and found his tee. He listened carefully, Annie was still sleeping which was good, he needed to do this by himself.

Fully dressed he went outside to place the phone call, it was a beautiful morning but even though the sun was shining it was getting noticeably chillier outside. He heard the dial tone, but after six tones he knew that it was pointless, she wasn't picking up. He went into Annie's hallway; he remembered her placing her keys to the main house in a little bowl by the door last night. He wanted to make Annie a breakfast in bed, she deserved it.

He managed to find his way into the kitchen, and he started his process of mapping it, trying to make out where everything was. It was spacious, so it was quite easy for him to navigate inside it. He found a frying pan and opened the fridge and easily managed to find a couple of eggs and what he hoped was a packet of bacon. He'd just managed to break one of the eggs in a bowl, but when he turned to the side to grab one of the others, he accidentally tipped over the bowl and it smashed to the floor. He cursed out loud, he went down on his knees to assess the damage he'd done but luckily the bowl hadn't broke and it was just one egg that had been spoiled. He managed to find a roll of kitchen paper and wiped up the egg from the floor.

"Auggie?" he heard Annie's voice coming from the entrance. He sighed. He hadn't managed to do much but make a mess. But he could hear the surprise in Annie's voice. "Are you making me breakfast?" she asked.

"Well, I was trying to..." he said. He stood up and he could hear her approach him, then her arms were around him and he felt a little better.

"That's so sweet and I gotta say that I'm impressed, even I have trouble finding things here at times. Danielle was the one who cooked." She said and he knew that she was trying to lighten the mood.

He offered her a smile, but couldn't help but feel a little defeated. "Do you want my help?" she asked, carefully.

"Yeah, sure..." he thought that maybe that was best, after all it was kind of hard getting a handle of all the things. At his place, he knew how everything worked and where everything was. He sank down at the kitchen table while Annie continued.

"Are you okay?" she asked a few minutes later. He could hear her settle down on a chair next to him. She was worried about him; maybe the glumness he felt could be seen. He decided that Annie deserved the truth.

"Um...well, I wanted to make you breakfast in bed. That's what boyfriend's do, isn't? And you deserve it. But I guess I didn't manage very well."

"Oh, Auggie!" she exclaimed, he could feel her grab his hand. "You've done more than enough already and I know that you're very self-efficient at your place, it must be challenging in a new place and it's your first time in here alone. Don't be so hard on yourself."

He nodded. He knew that she was right and he smiled, he felt a little lighter, Annie knew exactly what to say in order to not make him feel like the blind guy. He loved that about her. In her eyes he seemed to be a normal guy and truthfully, in her company he sometimes felt normal, but reality had a way of always catching up with him. He shrugged and couldn't help thinking that Annie would be better off with someone who could see.

"Auggie?" she said and he turned towards her voice. "I love you, okay? Please, just let it go. I just want to enjoy our weekend together." He smiled. She really sounded happy and who was he to destroy their day.

"You're right," he said and stepped up, "Maybe I can help with something else?" he asked gently. He could hear Annie rummage through the fridge.

"Maybe you could dice the tomatoes?" she paused, picking up some kitchen utensils. "Here," she grabbed his hand, "the cutting board is here." She placed his hand on it. "And the tomatoes are to your left and here she said as she placed a knife in his right hand.

"Thank you, for your patience," he said. Normally he would've felt embarrassed, but Annie somehow made it all better. And better yet, he didn't mind her helping him and that was a first. He'd never really been comfortable with help and especially if it was from someone making a big deal about it. He flashed back to his first time around his parents' house after he'd gone blind. Granted he'd been staying at an institute beforehand so he wasn't completely at a loss when he got there, in fact he'd been able to handle himself pretty well. But it had still been quite odd, for everyone.

* * *

A while later they were sitting down at the table and Auggie dug in with great appetite, he'd barely eaten anything the day before, he'd gotten a sandwich when he arrived at Annie's late last night.

"Was it okay?" Annie queried.

"Absolutely," he managed between bites.

"Um..." He could sense the hesitation in her voice, "just let me know if there's anything I can do for you, I mean...just to make you comfortable. I know that you can manage, I just..." She didn't seem to know how to finish her sentence. He grabbed her hand for support.

"Annie, you don't have to worry about offending me, I know that you don't see me as the blind guy who needs help and frankly, that's one of the things that I love about you."

"Thank you Auggie." He could hear her smiling.

"I was actually thinking about it when you were cooking, things feel so comfortable with you, I don't think I've ever really felt this way with another person, at least not this fast." He smiled brightly towards her. She deserved to know just how good a person she was.

"Not even with Parker?" She asked cautiously.

"No, especially not with her, I mean she tried and she was great, but I could sense that she was uncomfortable at times...and that wasn't her fault, but it never really felt natural." He said, he'd reflected upon it when he'd been together with Parker, but he'd just ignored it. He'd never been with a woman seriously while blind before Parker, so he hadn't had much to compare it too, he'd simply chalked it up to them both being new in this kind of situation. But if he were to be totally honest with himself, he had thought about the fact that something hadn't felt right.

"What do you want to do today?" Annie asked, as she cleared the table.

"Whatever you like, what do you usually do on your weekends?" He asked, he was a little curious.

"Oh, I dunno. I've been rock climbing a little but I guess that when Danielle lived here we went out for a run or I just spent time with my nieces." He could sense the sentimentality in Annie's voice, he could tell that she missed her sister and he felt bad for her, they'd been so close.

"Well, I think I'll be terrible at rock climbing, but I can give it a try," he quipped, wanting to lighten her mood.

He could hear her giggling and he smiled, mission accomplished.

"Okay, maybe not rock climbing then," she said as she sat down next to him again. "What about you, what do you do on weekends?" She asked.

"I usually go out for a run, or get some exercise done on Saturdays, preferably in the morning. Otherwise I guess that I'm as much of a geek at home, as I am at Langley." He tried his charming grin on her, considering that he might not come off as the most fun person.

"What about going for a run then? You could go home and grab some clothes and we could meet up in an hour?" Annie said.

"Sure, that sounds good." He agreed. He could feel his phone buzz in his pants. The mechanical voice announced that the caller ID was blocked. "Sorry, I just have to take this," he said and excused himself as he went outside.

"Anderson," he said as he answered.

"Auggie?" His heart started pounding. It was Tash.

"Hey," he managed. He stopped to listen for a second, but he couldn't hear Annie she must have retreated into the living room. "I've tried to reach you," he said. He couldn't help the emotions stirring in his body, their last encounter hadn't quite ended the way either of them had wanted it to and at the time he'd been sure he'd never see her again. Granted things were different now, he loved Annie, but he still cared deeply for Tash.

"I know, but I had to be careful," she replied. "But I take it you got my message."

"I did, or rather my boss gave me your code and it took me a while to figure out that you were the one behind it." He explained.

"Do they know that it was me?" she queried.

"No, but I have to give my boss a report sometime today." He informed.

"And you can, but first I have to see you. We need to talk."

"What do you mean, are you in D.C?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, do you have time now?"

He thought about Annie, this was their first weekend together and he'd wanted to cherish it, but he realized that whatever Tash needed to talk to him about, it was important enough for her to reach out to him this way. He'd come up with something and he could meet up with Annie a little later. Hopefully whatever Tash wanted could be cleared up quickly.

"Sure, I'm in Georgetown now, but I'll meet you up at my apartment? Do you remember how to get there?" he asked.

"Yes, Adams Morgan, right?"

"Exactly." He paused, "well, then I'll be there in half an hour, okay?"

They hung up and Auggie felt nervous, what could be so important? He opened the door to the kitchen, it was quiet.

"Annie?" he called out.

"I'll be right there," about a minute later he could hear her enter the kitchen. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

He feared that he looked nervous, but he tried to compose his features.

"Yes, absolutely, it's just that I remembered that I still have to write a quick report to Joan about the progress I made yesterday."

"Oh, right," she said as she recalled the previous night.

"I'll just have the car service drive me home and I'll type up the report quickly and then maybe we could do something more fun, like...watch a movie or something?" He asked. "And if I recall I promised you a dinner."

"That you did, but then you came over anyway last night, so you don't really owe me anything." She said.

"Well, I'd still like to make you dinner, so what do you say, dinner and a movie at my place? The report won't take long; just give me like 2 hours or so."

"Okay, I guess I can go for that run by myself," she said.

He stepped towards her and they shared a kiss.

* * *

Annie watched the car drive away, she sighed. She felt so lost and uncertain, she'd wanted to tell him all about Henry Wilcox's file, but hadn't managed. He'd seem so happy and she wanted their weekend to go well, how do you even tell someone news like that. She sank down at the kitchen table and the way he'd left, kind of quickly had made her a little unsure, had she done something wrong? Was he still upset about his little accident in the kitchen?

She thought about the phone call, what had it been about? She decided not to mull it over and instead decided to go back to her house and write an email to Danielle, she missed her sister so much and now more than ever. She giggled as she remembered talking to Danielle about boys when they were younger; it had been so much fun. She logged onto her computer, it was 8.32 AM, so 5.32 AM in California. When she'd logged onto her mail she saw that Danielle's icon was green, she was online. She quickly typed:

**_Annie W: _**_Hi, what are you doing up so early?  
__**Dani W: **__Hi! I thought I'd go out for a run, I just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep :). How are you?__**  
Annie W:**__ I'm good, very good actually. But I miss you and the girls so, so much!  
_**_Dani W: _**_And we miss you terribly! I'm glad to hear that you're good, any particular reason why you added that 'very good' part? ;)_

Annie smiled, it was obvious that Danielle still had her sisterly intuition and of course she'd picked up on her mood. She wrote back.

**_Annie W: _**_Yes, actually..._

She paused, not entirely sure what to write next. She erased it and retyped.

**_Annie W: _**_I wish you were here so that we could talk properly. __**  
Dani W: **__Me too. But come on, spill!  
_**_Annie W: _**_You know Auggie, from work. Well...we started seeing each other.  
__**Dani W: **__Oh Annie! That's wonderful, finally. I mean I could tell that you had feelings for him when you spoke to him in Stockholm.  
_**_Annie W:_**_ Yeah, I remember. He's really been there for me, more than you know and...I love him.  
__**Dani W: **__I'm so HAPPY for you, both of you! Maybe you two could come over here for Christmas?  
_**_Annie W: _**_Slow down ;) it's still very new. But I am very happy. It feels great. _

She told Danielle the whole story about Auggie coming over to her apartment that night when they'd shared their first kiss and the speech he'd open with. It had been great talking to her sister about all these kinds of things and when she signed off a half hour later, she felt properly energized and in the mood for that run.

* * *

Auggie had just finished getting dressed in new clean clothes after a shower when he heard a tap on his door. He pulled it open and could instantly tell that it was Tash, he recognized her scent.

"Auggie," she said and a second later they were hugging. It felt oddly familiar and when they separated he felt a little confused. A memory flashed before him, she'd kissed him goodbye on that Amtrak train and whispered 'I love you', and he wondered if she still did. He could feel her pass him in the doorway, heading for the living room.

"Where have you been these past two years?" he asked curious. Last time she'd been connected to the Swedish-founded Pirate Bureau, maybe she still was.

"I've been in Turkey," she simply said. A few things that had happened during the year came to mind, as Auggie remembered reading things about RedHack a Turkish hacker group affiliated with the international hacking group Anonymous. He couldn't help but wonder what she'd been involved in but he didn't want to pry.

"So what brings you back to D.C?" he asked instead.

"You, actually," she said. He could hear her settle down on the couch.

"What do you mean?" he asked a little confused. But he couldn't deny his curiosity.

"Let's just say that I've run across quite a lot of sensitive information during my stay in Turkey, even some stuff about you," She paused, he could hear her shift in her seat over on the couch. "For example, I came across information about Khani," she said, a hint of emotion in her voice.

"What about Khani?" he tried, it was public knowledge that he'd been taken by the FBI and he'd surely done a lot of different horrible things, during his time as a terrorist. But he had a feeling he already knew her answer before she gave it to him.

"That he was the man blinding you," he voice was softer now. She felt sorry for him. He shrugged. It was classified information, but he wasn't all that surprised by her obtaining it, in fact it was a little cool.

"Auggie, I came back for you," she started. She began telling him about her time in Turkey, hacks she'd done, people she'd met and after a little while he was listening to her stories mesmerized. "Auggie, it was absolutely wonderful, you'd love it!"

"I'm sure, it sounds very exciting," he said smiling, it had been a while since he'd heard her so happy and excited. He was happy for her too.

"Auggie, please, come with me!" she exclaimed.

He arched his eyebrows. _What, he thought_ he hadn't been prepared for this.

"What do you mean?" he asked perplexed.

"We're a group of people; we travel around the world together, doing things like this. And I spoke about you and they'd love it if you came with us." She paused. "I'd love it too."

"But I already have a job," he said carefully, not wanting to dampen her mood too much. "And it's not the easiest thing for a blind guy changing environments that rapidly." He offered.

"I'll help you, we all will. Auggie admit it, I know you, I know you love things like this, at least you used to! And plus, how much autonomy do you get working at the CIA?" she countered.

He didn't really know what to reply, sure he'd wished for a little more room to operate on his own at times, but Joan had been more than generous. And now he had Annie too, he wouldn't leave her, he'd _never _leave her.

"I can't Tash, but thank you for the offer...it sounds exciting, but I just can't leave at the moment."

"Who is she?" Tash wondered. He knew that Tash's question was grounded in the past, when he'd been a seeing man he'd been more of the 'relationship type', but that had changed, until now.

"You met her -" he began.

"Oh, the blond woman?" she asked. He could hear her smirk.

He remembered that Tash had thought that he and Annie had been a couple back then. But things had been so different at that time; he had yet to come to terms with his feelings.

"Yes..." he replied, uncertain how to proceed. Did she have an agenda, was her visit to the States to recruit him because of his talents or because she wanted something more.

"I'm happy for you," she said after a while. It sounded sincere enough, but he couldn't be sure. She'd always been hard to read, and even more so now when he couldn't see her. "Maybe I should go," she added.

They talked a little while longer, but it was as if though they didn't have anything else to talk about now that all the cards were on the table.

"Can I just ask you one thing," Auggie said as he walked her to the door.

"Sure," she said.

"Why did you use the hack to get my attention?"

"There are a lot of people out there Auggie who wants my head on a plate, this way I knew that you'd figure it out."

"But you could've just come here." He pushed.

"That wouldn't have been as fun," she said and the hint of the old Tash was back, he smiled in her direction. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and asked him to take care of himself, he wished her the same and then she was gone. When he'd closed the door behind him, something lingered. He went over to his little desk and started up his computer, he needed to type that report to Joan and he knew that the best approach was honesty. They could hash out the details on Monday, he thought as he started writing.

* * *

**A/N: **_Will Auggie put this proposal from Tash behind him, or will he ever revisit it? Is Tash now gone for good, knowing that Auggie loves another woman? Will Annie ever find out about Tash's visit and will she ever get enough courage to tell Auggie about Henry Wilcox's file? __**Stay Tuned.**_

_I hope you enjoyed it, what did __**you **__think? Please, _Review!


	14. Chapter 14 - The First Weekend - Pt 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So now that Tash's gone, will that be it? Will Auggie just be able to report it back to Joan? And how will Annie and Auggie's date-night go? Will Annie (or Auggie for that matter) finally spill the beans?_

Also I wanted to add that I made a miscalculation in the last chapter (13), Annie was supposed to say that it was November 30th, not December 1st, sorry about that. So now, that it's Saturday in this pt. 2 of their weekend it's December 1st 2012.

* * *

**Chapter 14  
**_The First Weekend pt. 2_

Annie stepped out of the shower; the run had gone smoother than it usually did, much thanks to Danielle she thought. Talking to her sister about Auggie had been so deliberating and while she was sure about her and Auggie's relationship and about her feelings, it was all so new and she hadn't been able to tell anyone. She looked forward to dinner and a movie at Auggie's, she giggled to herself. It sounded so normal; she couldn't recall the last time she'd been on such a normal date. This was one of the perks of dating someone within the CIA, she didn't have to make excuses and if she had to work, it was likely that Auggie would be there too. She remembered her relationship with doctor Scott Weiss whom she'd dated briefly and while they'd had time to do some rock climbing at Seneca Rocks, she'd had to cancel numerous dates too and she'd always struggled to come up with reasons.

Knowing that tonight would be more cozy than fancy, she chose a pair of well-worn, light blue jeans and a white tee, and she put on a little make-up and blow-dried her hair. She felt giddy all of a sudden, and gone were her previous thoughts about Henry Wilcox and the file.

After a few minutes she managed to find a parking spot for her car nearby Auggie's apartment, she made a mental note of asking him about the parking garage later on. Hopefully she'd be spending more time with him, so she might as well use his old parking spot. She smiled when she met the landlady in the hallway, but she simply nodded back. Annie quickly made her way towards Auggie's apartment and knocked carefully on the door. A few seconds later Auggie was standing in front of her and she couldn't help but practically throw herself into his arms, she couldn't even explain the emotions coursing through her body. She'd seen him less than 3 hours ago, but even so it was as if every fiber in her body had longed for his embrace.

"Well hello there," he sniggered. She could detect the slightest hint of astonishment in his voice; he probably hadn't been ready for that kind of greeting.

"I'm sorry," she said and giggled into his chest.

"Don't be, I could get used to this. It's very nice," he replied stroking her hair.

When they finally separated, Annie went to hang off her coat, when she heard Auggie's soft laugh behind her.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"The sound of kitten heels," he said, "I don't know, but I've always liked that sound, especially the sound of _your _heels."

"Oh, is that so?" she said laughing softly at him, _he's so cute she thought._

She followed him towards the kitchen, on one of the kitchen counters she saw raw chicken being marinated in a bowl, it smelled heavenly.

"Mm," she murmured as she inhaled it. "It smells wonderful," she said towards him. He looked happy.

"It's my brother's recipe, it's really good."

She then stopped to listen to the soft jazz in the background, she smiled as she realized what they were listening to, Miles Davis' _Blue in Green. _She loved this piece, the soft melodic tones.

"Miles' 'Kind of Blue' record," she stated. She remembered Auggie making a reference to Miles when they'd been in Barcelona.

"And she knows her jazz too," Auggie mused as he came to stand behind her. "You know about cars _and _jazz, Walker I think you might just be the perfect woman." She could feel him place a soft kiss upon her head.

"I love Blue in Green," she said, "I remember that my father listened to it when we were younger."

They stood in silence for a while, just taking in the music, the soft tones spreading, filling the apartment.

"Do you need some help with the food?" she asked carefully.

"No, I think I'm good, just make yourself at home, there's beer in the fridge if you want one. I'm just gonna start peeling the potatoes." He replied.

* * *

As he stood peeling the potatoes he could hear Annie settled down on the couch with the beer she'd taken from the fridge. He smiled, it all felt so good, so natural, like they'd been a couple forever. In a way they had been together for a while, sure it hadn't been romantically, but they'd been close from the beginning. He could hear a content sigh coming from the couch; Annie seemed to mirror his feelings. He was happy that they seemed to have so much in common, cars and music and maybe there was more. He was looking forward to get to know Annie Walker more personally.

"Danielle says hi," Annie said from the couch, interrupting his thoughts.

"Oh, you told her?" he asked.

"Yes, she was very happy." He could hear her giggle. To hear that Annie had made them official, sharing their relationship with her sister, made him feel even better. He made a mental note of reaching out to his brother one of these days.

"How is she and how are Michael and the kids?" he asked.

"Everything seemed fine," Annie said reiterating her conversation with Danielle. "She said that her business is booming, apparently brunch is a big thing in California. And Michael is doing well too. Katia and Chloe are both happy in their new schools but miss their old friends fortunately they can use Skype and Facebook to keep in touch."

"That's great to hear," he said genuinely. He'd always liked Danielle, she took great care of her little sister and he knew how much that meant to Annie. He'd met Chloe once too and she'd been a delight, he smiled at the thought. He loved kids, they were fun and were usually the ones to treat him like any other person, despite him being blind, granted they usually had questions but after getting answers they treated him normally.

* * *

Annie helped set the table, Auggie had told her to get the candles that were on the counter and place them on the table. She smiled, a candle-lit dinner, this was shaping up to be a really romantic evening and she was glad, hopefully this one would have a better ending than their first one. She felt herself blush as her mind flashed to some of the optional endings of the night, she was happy that Auggie couldn't see her.

"This smells so good," she said as Auggie came towards the table with the food. He'd made marinated chicken fillets which were served with potatoes that had been roasted in the oven. There was even a huge bowl of fresh, crisp salad.

"That it does, I'm not sure how it looks though, I figured I'll let you plate it yourself," he quipped. She smiled towards him.

They settled down to eat, Annie had helped plate the food and Auggie had grabbed two cold beers from the fridge. She was amazed at his ease around the apartment and particularly in the kitchen. Though the recipe was Auggie's brother's he'd gotten some help mixing it together from one of the tenants who sometimes helped him with the groceries, but it was still amazing watching him walk around, cooking and everything.

"What is it, I can feel you staring," Auggie said with a teasing tone. She felt a little embarrassed, she had been staring.

"I'm sorry Auggie, I just...you amaze me that's all." She replied.

Surprise flickered across his face, but then he smiled.

"Thank you, I guess I'm not really used to hearing that."

"Well, I'll be happy to remind you," she said brightly taking a bite of her food. "Oh my god Auggie, this food is amazing. How come you never told me you were such a great cook?"

"Hm, I don't know," he said, it wasn't like they hadn't shared personal things before. "We haven't really covered the small things, have we?"

"No, it seems like it," she said. "But I'd love to know more about you."

"Feel free to ask me anything," he replied between bites.

"Anything?" she said using a teasing tone.

He sniggered. "Yes, sure, I'm feeling a little daring tonight."

She laughed; he was so easy to be around. And sure, there were questions that she'd love to know more about, like his family, but she thought that she'd start small.

"What type of music do you listen to, besides jazz?" she queried.

"Oh, besides jazz, you mean there's more?" He kid but then he added, "I do actually listen to other music as well, like Kings of Leon and Brian Wilson," he said. "Kings of Leons are perfect for a workout or to do some coding to."

"Kings of Leon are great," she agreed, "but I don't think that I've heard of Brian Wilson."

"Hold on," Auggie said, he rose up from his chair and went over to the record player, he fumbled around a little but soon enough new music was playing. She listened intently, she liked it. "This is my favorite CD, it's called Smile," he explained. "Any more questions, Walker?" he asked grinning towards here when he was sitting down again.

She thought for a while.

"Okay, what kind of music do you listen to?" Auggie asked before she'd come up with another question.

"Queen are great," she answered.

"Oh, a rock fan Walker, nice." Auggie said. She wasn't exactly sure why his approval conjured up butterflies in her stomach, but it did.

"I also like Mindy Smith, especially her Christmas songs," she filled in.

"Haven't heard any of her stuff," Auggie said.

"I'll show you later," she promised.

They went on to discuss tastes in films, TV-series, books and even some poetry, it turned out that both of them had taken a small college credit in classical poetry. She felt so great when they cleared off the table and went to sit on the sofa to watch a movie that Auggie said that he'd heard great things about. They had so much in common and whatever differences there were felt exciting, she'd love to learn more about his hobbies. It turned out that the movie was really great, she'd loved it and the end had been really moving, she quickly wiped a tear out of her eye.

"You okay?" he asked carefully.

"Yes, very okay. This has been a lovely night Auggie, thank you." She whispered.

"Thank _you,_" he said smiling towards her. During the movie they'd moved closer together and he'd held her close. She couldn't imagine a better night. "Do you want dessert?" he asked.

"There's dessert too?"

"Yes, it's nothing special though, I just bought some B&J, it's Cherry Garcia, is that okay?"

Annie practically squealed. She loved Cherry Garcia, leave her with a bucket and she could finish it.

"I'll take that as a yes," Auggie said as he rose from the sofa. The absence of his body close to hers left her a little chilly. She grabbed the blanket that was thrown over one of the arm rests. Auggie was soon back with two bowls and placed them on the sofa. When he felt the blanket on her, he inched closer to her and his arm was around her again.

"You cold?" he asked his voice husky.

"A little," she whispered. All of sudden there was a kind of electricity in the room; Annie couldn't remember when she'd last felt anything like this, if she'd ever had. His left hand softly touched her shoulder, which created goose bumps all over her upper body. It was as if though everything was electric between them, she wondered if he felt the same. Judging by his silence, she figured that he might. But she wanted to be careful, she couldn't be sure about what he wanted and everything was still new, she didn't want to rush thing. He seemed a little hesitant too, or rather careful, like he didn't want to rush her either. She was well aware that they'd both just gotten out of pretty serious relationships. But she also knew that they'd both known that things hadn't been perfect in them, this on the other hand felt like everything she could ever wish for. She felt herself blush as his hand cupped her face and inched it closer to his, their lips met.

"I love you Annie," he whispered.

"I love you too," she said and with that she kissed him more passionately and it felt like fireworks erupting everywhere. The electricity was at its height and she could feel his eagerness too. There was no way that she was misreading any signs now, they both wanted this.

* * *

He stroked her hair. He could hear her even breathing pattern; she seemed to have dozed off. He felt so happy that he was at a loss for words. How had this happened, how had he gotten so lucky and how on earth had they not gotten together sooner? But he knew that for whatever reason, it hadn't been the right time before and like he'd told her that night when they'd first kissed; timing was everything. He carefully got out of bed, he walked slowly, not sure where they'd dropped off their clothes and he didn't want to risk tripping over anything.

With the tip of his finger he confirmed that the ice cream in their bowls had melted, he carried them over to the kitchen counter and started rinsing them out. This evening had been amazing, they'd shared so many things but there were still a lot of ground to cover, but they had time. At least from his point of view, he wanted to keep this relationship going and he had a feeling that Annie felt the same way. Even though it was past midnight, he wasn't tired at all, in fact he felt energetic. As he sat down on the sofa, he remembered Annie's taste as they'd kissed and the feeling of her body close to his. He hoped that everything had been good for her; the last thing he wanted was to rush things. This was the first good relationship he'd had since going blind and he wasn't going to ruin it. He picked up his phone, he thought about one of his brothers, Adam.

Adam was the oldest of the five brothers and ultimately it had been Adam who'd really helped Auggie through his ordeal after coming back from Iraq, it had also been him who had convinced the family that Auggie being CIA was a good thing, something to be proud of and to respect. Granted, his mother still had qualms about him being CIA, but now they were all very supportive. Adam still lived in Glencoe where they'd grown up, they were an hour behind and he hadn't spoken to him for quite a while. He decided to send him a text, see if he was available for a quick chat. After Annie had told him that she'd spoken to Danielle about them, he'd realized that it'd been nice to speak to his big brother, air it all out. Maybe he'd even mention Tash to him...

Only five minutes after sending the text, his phone started buzzing.

"Hey man," Auggie said as he answered the call.

"Hey bro! How are you?" Adam said cheerily.

"I'm great!" he said and he couldn't help but smile as he said it. "I didn't wake you or anything right?" he checked.

"No, don't worry. I'm still going over some things." His brother was a lawyer and skilled one at that; he worked at one of the top law firms in Chicago. Auggie had a feeling that it had been due to his brother's rhetoric skills that he'd made the family accept him being CIA. "I'm actually glad to hear from you, it's been a while."

"Yeah, I know I'm sorry," he offered. But he knew that he didn't have to apologize to him, they were both busy, but tried to talk whenever they could squeeze each other in.

"Me too, but I trust that the CIA is treating you well? How did it go, the tour back to Iraq?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, everything's great." He started telling his brother about his 'battle buddy' and operation Perfect Exit; the return to Doctor Street, all the feelings surrounding it as well as the giving away of his Purple Heart.

"That was really big of you Auggie," his brother replied after he was done. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." He said, happy to hear it from him. "How goes things at the big law firm?"

"It's good, yeah...it's just this case, well it's tricky." His brother was a defense lawyer and he knew that daunting cases crossed his brother's desk regularly. "I'll tell you about it later," he added.

"Yeah, if you want to," Auggie said. He knew that his brother couldn't share everything about his cases, sometimes just general guidelines or referring to official media reports. It was all due to attorney-client privileges. But Auggie didn't mind, it wasn't like he could share things with his brother either, at least not most of it. "How's the family?" He asked instead, wanting to lighten the mood a little.

"Oh, they're great." He smiled as he could hear his brother's tone shift; it was now filled with happiness and pride. Adam was married to a wonderful woman, Carly and together they had two kids. The oldest, Maya was 13 and the youngest, Trey was 7. "They're both doing well in school but you can really tell that Maya is becoming a teenager..."Auggie could hear his brother scoff.

"Well, good luck with that," he quipped. "Remember what we were like at that age?"

"I don't think I want to, but even so, it's so different for kids today...but I'm not gonna bore you with that now. How are you, what's going on with you?" Adam said.

"Well, there's been...what can I say, a few developments," he began, "first of all Tash reached out to me," he admitted and as he did, it was nice to get that off his chest. Something about their encounter had left him a little confused.

"Really?" Adam said surprise evident in his voice. "What did she want?"

"I don't really know...or rather, she said she wanted me to go with her, travel the world with this hacker group." He sighed. "I honestly don't know what to make of it," he added.

"So what do you want?" his brother asked patiently. Auggie smiled, he knew that his brother would support him, no matter what he'd decide. And Adam was one of the few people who believed that he could do anything, despite being blind.

"If she'd asked me like a month or so ago, I would've done it I think. After everything with Parker..." he knew that he didn't have to venture into it, Adam understood. "But now..." he said, "well, things have changed."

"How so?" Adam asked cautiously.

"You remember Annie, one of the Agents that I help guide on missions?"

"Of course!" He could hear his brother laugh. He felt himself blush a little, apparently he'd spoken about Annie quite a few times, but then she'd been a huge part of his professional life for the last three years.

"Well," he began telling Adam about Annie's shooting, he hadn't talked to anyone but Annie about that. Apart from people at work, but now, for the first time he really voiced all those feelings that he'd encountered upon facing the possibility of losing Annie. Sure, he'd told Annie the majority of this, but now he really went into it. Adam was very supportive and he could hear the worry in his voice when he asked if Annie was okay now. He didn't care that he might not be entitled to share what had happened to Annie in Russia, or things about Lena and Annie being looked at as a traitor, he needed to tell someone. After all that, he continued to tell his brother about the phone message that Annie had left on his cell when he'd been in Iraq and that he'd heard it on a layover and how he'd been placed on the first plane to Amsterdam to help her out. Finally he reached to moment of truth when he told Adam about that night at Annie's place. When he was done he felt relieved.

"Wow, that's quite a story Auggie. I'm happy for you and Annie, I really am. I knew that you liked her, or that it was something special between you. I mean you've spoken so passionately about her throughout these years and I know you've handled a lot of other operatives but I've never heard you talk about anyone the way you've talked about Annie Walker."

Auggie smiled as he realized that his brother was right.

"I guess I should've consulted you earlier then," Auggie smirked.

"Yeah, you should've." His brother stated matter-of-factly. They laughed together and spoke for another 20 minutes or so before saying goodbye and good night to each other. As he crawled into bed, he carefully nestled himself next to Annie's body.

"I love you," he whispered before he dazed off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **_I hope you all like it, please __review__, tell me what you thought. More action will follow, I promise. But don't they deserve at least one night off from all the action? ;)_


	15. Chapter 15 - The First Weekend - Pt 3

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So, onto the second day of Annie and Auggie's first weekend. Sunday, December 2nd. Will it go all smooth and peaceful? Will they get to enjoy each other's company like a normal couple?_

* * *

__**Chapter 15**  
_The First Weekend Pt. 3_

He was walking around his own kitchen with ease, he thought that he'd make Annie breakfast, now that he could. Since she was on leave now, she'd stayed at her place and he usually went there after work and considering his last attempt of making her breakfast there had failed, he thought he'd seize the opportunity now. The smell of fried bacon made him smile; there wasn't anything more delicious in the morning he thought. He felt like he was walking on clouds, _nothing could get him down he thought._

He'd just placed the bacon on a plate when ice ran through his veins as he heard Annie's scream emanating from the bedroom. He quickly put the pan down and hurried towards the bedroom.

"Annie?" he asked worried. He hated that he couldn't see if anything had happened. "Annie, are you okay?"

"Sorry," he could hear a whisper coming from the bed. He carefully sat down on the side of the bed that she was on and fumbled a little until he could feel her arm. He inched closer to her.

"What happened?" he asked carefully. Although he sensed he knew the answer, he'd recognized that scream.

"I had a nightmare," she said. She sounded shy and he knew that it must be hard for her to admit. It was probably about the shooting he thought, or maybe her being captured or both. He was worried about her. He instantly remembered the nightmares he'd had when he'd returned back from Iraq.

"It's okay, I'm here..." he said in a soft tone, pulling her closer to him. She seemed to relax and as she did, he allowed himself to do the same. They sat in silence for a while. "I talked to one of my brother's last night," he said trying to get her mind on other, happier things.

"Oh?" she said. "What did you talk about?" she asked carefully, although he could detect a hint of curiosity.

"I told him about us, and apparently he wasn't that surprised, he told me that of all the operatives I've handled, you're the only one that I've been talking about numerous times and with such passion." He offered, hoping to make her smile. He could hear a faint giggle and he was pleased, he wished that he could keep her happy at all times. "You know what, I'm making breakfast for you and without any spilled eggs this time," he said.

"You're too sweet," she mumbled into his chest. "You made me dinner last night too, you should've left breakfast to me," she added.

"Well, I wanted to take care of you and give you that breakfast." He reassured. "Why don't you go into the bathroom, I've laid out fresh towels, and freshen up and when you're done the breakfast will be on the table."

"Thank you Auggie," he could hear the sincerity in her voice and pulled her closer to him.

When he was back in the kitchen he thought that maybe he'd pitch the whole therapy idea to Annie, carefully of course, he knew how nightmares could haunt someone if they didn't do anything about them. He knew that Annie had thought that Andrew, her therapist had been good, so maybe she'd be open to the idea. When he'd put everything on the table, he could hear Annie approach from the bedroom. She smelled good, and he breathed in her scent as she came over to hug him. He hugged back and the shared hug turned into a kiss.

"Will you tell me a little more about your brother?" Annie said as they were settled down, digging into the bacon, eggs and veggies.

"The one I talked to last night is Adam, he's the eldest. He still lives in Glencoe, close to where we grew up. He's a defense lawyer in Chicago. He's married and has two kids." He said between bites.

"So, you're close?" she asked.

"Yeah, absolutely, even though we're both quite busy, we try to keep in touch. He's the one who's really been there. He helped the rest of the family getting on board with the whole CIA thing," he told her. As he told her more about his other brothers and his family, he realized how easy it was to be open with Annie; he'd never experienced anything like it before.

"Annie?" he asked carefully, making sure he got her attention. "I just want to put it out there and I don't want you to feel pressured. But I know a thing or two about nightmares and you've been through a lot lately. Maybe you should consider making another appointment with Andrew?" Annie remained quiet and he was just about to say that his was sorry, maybe he'd put too much pressure on her, when she cleared her throat.

"I will..." she said seriously. "I'm going to call him tomorrow to see if he has time to see me. I _never _want to have a dream like that again," she said.

He cringed, it killed him that she'd dreamt something horrible, though he didn't want to ask what it was about, he respected her boundaries and thought that she'd tell him if she wanted to. And he was relieved to hear that she'd planned to see the therapist again.

"You're brave Annie," he said. "I mean, it took me a long time before I talked to a therapist after Iraq, in fact Joan had to force me to do it," he admitted.

"You didn't want help even though you had those nightmares?"

"No. I don't know why really, since I hated those nightmares too. They always felt so real. But I was blind, everything felt foreign and I didn't want to spill my guts...I guess I was convinced that no one would ever really understand where I came from..." he said.

"I love you," she said.

He smiled brightly as he heard her say those words; he was convinced that those words from Annie Walker could bring him back from the death.

"And I love you," he said. He then heard Annie gasp as she stood up. _Shit he thought. _"Shit, I'm so stupid!" he exclaimed as he realized that they'd been intimate the other night, even though she was still healing. "Did I hurt you last night?" he asked.

"No, no. Don't worry," Annie said. "I guess I'm just a little sore now, I didn't feel anything but...well, pleasure the other night." she replied coyly and he could basically hear her blush. He calmed down a little, but made a mental note to be more careful from here on out. Their conversation was interrupted by Annie cell phone that chimed from the bedroom, she excused herself.

* * *

"Walker," she answered.

"Ms. Walker. We need to talk."

_Great, Annie thought. _Hearing Henry Wilcox's voice this early in the morning wasn't at the top of her wish list. She let out a sigh before replying.

"I'm not alone," she said.

"Seems like you have an awful lot of company these days Ms. Walker." Henry said in a tone that was difficult to decipher. She got a weird feeling; she knew how good Henry had been at keeping track of her up until now, what if he knew about her being with Auggie. She was just about to ask when he added. "I'm supposed to meet a contact in central D.C. later on today, why don't we meet up before that? You live in Georgetown right?"

_Maybe Henry weren't shadowing her at all times after all, she thought, considering that she wasn't at home at the moment. But she wasn't going to let Henry believe otherwise._

"Yes, Georgetown," she replied.

"Okay, so meet me at Baked & Wired in an hour." Henry said. It took her by surprise, mostly because he usually suggested that they'd meet at Vesta and secondly because she couldn't really believe that he even knew about that café.

"Sure," she said. Having a feeling that she didn't have a say in whether they'd meet or not. And she had to give it to him; he'd been quite forthcoming lately and it seemed as though he wasn't stringing her along. After they hung up, she knew that she'd have to come up with an excuse to leave Auggie; it killed her since she didn't want to leave. She loved his apartment, it was cozy somehow and of course she wanted to stay in his company, she knew that he'd go back to Langley tomorrow while she'd be stuck at her place, having nothing to do.

"Auggie?" she asked as he stepped out of the bedroom. "I'm sorry, but I just have to step out for a little while. I need to sign for a package that UPS sent to Danielle, unfortunately there must have been a mix-up with the address change. Anyway, I have to go there to sign for it and give them Danielle's new address, it's stuff that she needs for the catering," she explained.

"Oh, okay. Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.

"That's okay, but if you want, I'll come back here the second I'm done," she said in a teasing tone, all the while hoping that he wasn't seeing through this.

"I'd like that," he said with a smirk.

* * *

Annie was placed at a table. She looked at her watch, Henry was late. She'd ordered a Strawberry Cupcake, which was delicious. Vanilla cake with fresh strawberries folded into the batter, finished with a swirl of pink buttercream. She'd just taken a bite when Henry sat down opposite her. She thought about reprimanding him for being late, but thought better of it; she just wanted to know what he had to say so that she could get going. She wondered why she hadn't objected and asked to see him tomorrow instead, Auggie would be at Langley and she'd be by herself anyway. She sighed, she was here now, she so she might as well listen.

"So?" she said, since Henry just watched her.

"Cutting right to the chase Ms. Walker," he said as he took a bite of, what looked to be a slice of Key Lime Pie. "Fair enough," he said after a little while. "I spoke to a contact of mine from Langley." Henry started. Annie had to admit that she was a little surprised. She'd figured that Henry had gotten word back from his former Mukhabarat friend. "This contact has taken a deeper look into Jai's death..."

She nodded, unsure what to say. She wasn't a big fan of Henry Wilcox, but he had lost a son and Jai had been a good friend.

"But what does Jai have to do with this?" she asked, perplexed.

"Always asking questions," Henry said. She just rolled her eyes at him. "Well, it seems that Jai was doing some investigation of his own, before he..." he didn't finish his sentence.

"Yeah, I know." Annie said. "I came across some of his stuff, but it was just so much, I think Arthur took over the investigation into the files or had some other people do it." She offered.

"I know and I know why."

"What do you mean why?"

"Isn't it true, Ms. Walker, that you and Mr. Anderson found those files?" he asked.

"Yeah...I guess." She said. Auggie had found Jai's safe house and he'd taken her there in the middle of the night. And while they were there Arthur had popped up out of nowhere as if he'd had an alarm installed to alert him of trespassers. He'd then taken over the whole thing.

"And I know why Arthur was so eager to show up and take over just then." Henry said calmly.

"Okay...?" she asked. Not sure she liked wherever this was heading. Something had changed in Henry's tone, even though he seemed unfazed.

"I know that Jai uncovered what I did, he found the file that I've now shared with you."

Annie's mind was running high-speed. _So Jai had found out? What did that mean? Had he confronted Arthur? She knew how much Jai had despised him in the end and she'd always thought that it had been unwarranted, but now...had Arthur been involved in Jai's death? _She didn't know what to do with all of this...she looked to Henry for guidance, what was this? But he just looked into her eyes, with a calm that made her sick.

"What does this mean?" She managed after a while, even though she didn't really want to know the answer, but she knew that she needed to anyway. "Do you think..." she couldn't finish the sentence.

"It seems like it," Henry stated simply, "but I'm not sure yet. I'm still looking into it. But now I know what Jai knew before his death. And I definitely think that whoever killed him thought that he was getting too close. We have to proceed with caution Ms. Walker." He rose from the table. "I'll let you know when I need you again." He said and turned to walk out of the café.

Annie was stumped, as she sat there she glanced around the café in wonder, it was hard to grasp the fact that for everyone around her, the day wasn't any different now than had it been 20 minutes ago. But for her, it felt like someone had turned her insides out and stomped on them. _Oh, Jai...why did you wait so long to reach out to me, she thought back to their brief conversation at Vesta._

When Annie left the café the sun was shining, but she still felt confused, how was she supposed to just sit around and wait? She needed to know what had happened to Jai, now more than ever. As she walked towards the curb to hail a cab, she thought that she needed to tell Auggie about all of this, but maybe she'd wait till the weekend was over? Things had been so great and she didn't want to ruin anything, but she also knew that the longer she waited...

* * *

Auggie enjoyed the sunshine on his skin; it was a bright and crisp day. Well, at least he figured it was bright, but to him all days looked the same. He'd just been for a run and was now slowing down; he drank from his water bottle. He ran this particular route, since he knew it so well and there were barely any people here. He liked it.

"Auggie?"

He was surprised to hear his name, but he smiled as he turned around, recognizing the voice.

"Hi Reva," he said. "What are you doing all the way over here; I mean I thought you lived over in Arlington?"

"Yeah, yeah...I do," she said sounding a little winded, seemed like he wasn't the only one getting a workout today. "I just- I, wanted a change of scenery," she added.

"Sure. So how are you?" he asked, not really sure what to say. They usually got a long really well, but then they usually weren't alone, he flashed back to a night at Allen's they'd all been together. Him, Annie, Reva and Jai.

"Oh, I'm good. How are you?"

"Good, just enjoying the weekend" he said. Then he remembered, "I'm glad you had lunch with Annie the other day, she keeps telling me that she's going stir-crazy at home." He said, hoping that it wasn't too see-through.

"Lunch?" he heard the surprise in her voice. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Annie came into Langley last Friday, she told me she had a lunch date with you," he answered.

"Oh? She called me to ask about lunch that afternoon, but I was totally swamped, so I had to take a rain check." Reva explained. He felt confused, as Reva went on about backlogs and a co-worker that was lazy his mind was racing, why had Annie lied about her being at Langley? Of course he knew that he'd kept Tash a secret too, but that was different surely, at least a little. Why had Annie felt the need to go into Langley at all? Eyal crossed his mind; he knew that Annie and him had left things hanging when they'd said their goodbyes in Amsterdam.

"Are you alright?" Reva asked as she stopped her narrative.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," he said as he tried to offer her a smile. "I guess it was just a misunderstanding on my part," he added.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Reva said. They exchanged a few other pleasantries before they parted. Auggie walked in a brisk pace, he wanted to get home. His phone started buzzing in his pocket, he picked it up. It was Annie. With mixed feelings he answered.

"Hi."

"Hi, I'm done here; do you still want me to come over?"

"Yeah, sure..." he replied, aware of the fact that he sounded less than thrilled about it. So her reaction didn't come as a surprise.

"Are you, sure? Are you okay? You sound...different."

"I'm fine; I'm on my way home now, should be there in about 10 minutes."

"I'll see you then," she said and he knew that she was weary.

After they'd hung up he wasn't sure if he even had the right to be angry, but he hated whenever people lied to him like that. He knew that it came with the territory of the job, but this felt different. And it kept bugging him that she'd gone into work to fix something, what was it? He couldn't help but feel a little worried too; he knew that Annie had a way of getting involved in things that weren't all that good.

* * *

She walked towards the bus station with a lump in her throat, something had been off with Auggie, and he'd sounded almost angry. She flashed back to Barcelona, when Auggie had gotten angry with her. She wondered what had ticked him off, but she knew she'd find out soon enough.

Twenty minutes later she knocked carefully on Auggie's door, her heart was racing. _Maybe this is karma for you keeping a secret like that from him, she thought. _When he opened the door she cringed, she didn't recognize this look, and if she had to put a word on it she'd say it was disappointment. She'd always preferred anger to disappointment; she could take people yelling at her, but not this...she gulped.

"What is it?" she whispered, not even sure she should enter the apartment.

"Um..." the thought seem to catch him a little off guard; he didn't seem to know what to answer. "It's nothing really..." he stepped aside to let her in. At least he seemed to want her there. She could feel her vision getting blurry, tears were welling up. She was afraid without knowing why, what could this be about? Maybe he'd realized that being with her wasn't a good thing...

She kept her coat on and walked into the living room, she sat down on the couch waiting for the blow. He sat down opposite her, still with that look in his eyes. She couldn't help it, a sniffle slipped out, she immediately covered her mouth - but it was mostly a reflex and she knew that he'd heard it.

"Annie?" she didn't dare to meet his gaze, she couldn't stand that look. "Hey," he said and she could hear that his voice sounded more worried now. He was suddenly beside her. "Hey, honey..." he whispered cupping her face while he turned it towards him, "I didn't mean to upset you like this. I just..." he paused. "I met Reva after my run and when I asked her about your lunch, she told me that you two hadn't had anything planned..."

"Oh, Auggie." More sniffles. She felt so bad, she shouldn't have lied to him like that and she shouldn't have used Reva as a cover. "I'm so, so sorry...it's just, it's complicated..." her tears were running and her voice came out all thick.

She could feel him stroking her hair and this time she looked up at him, his expression was soft and he felt like her normal Auggie. She sighed in relief, but realized that this was her in and she should take it, she should tell him.

"I know our kind of work makes it hard to talk about certain things, but Annie I love you and I get worried. You were at Langley to do something, and I was just worried that you'd gotten yourself mixed up in something -"

She cut him off. _It's like ripping of a Band-Aid she thought, she'd better do it quick and hopefully it'd be painless. _But she knew that what she had to say wasn't going to be painless, she was about to turn Auggie's whole world upside down.

* * *

**A/N: **_I'm so sorry that it has taken me this long to update, but I've been busy with my exam. But I hope you'll still read and review! Thank you all for your support, that's what makes me want to write. Love you!_


	16. Chapter 16 - The Confession

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So will it just be like ripping of a Band-Aid, when Annie tells Auggie about the whole situation? How will he react? Will they join together in looking into Henry Wilcox?_

* * *

**Chapter 16  
**_The confession_

Auggie waited for her to continue, so far she'd said "I need to tell you something." He'd heard the pain in her voice and he was worried. He wanted to encourage her to keep talking, but he was afraid to move a muscle. All the anger he'd felt earlier had been drained, he hated that he'd made her cry and she wasn't the only one keeping secrets and she'd gotten further than he had, she seemed on the verge of telling him whatever it was that she was keeping from him. He shifted where he sat, _what if she was about to tell him that being with him was too hard, he thought. _As the thought hit him full force he cringed and flashed back to Parker leaving him. He squared his jaw, trying his best to keep the tears at bay.

"Auggie…" she started, her voice was mumbled and he knew that she was staring down on the floor. He willed her to continue, which she did. "What I have to say, well it's very difficult. And I was asked not to share this with anyone…"

Just like he'd suspected, this had something to do with the Agency and probably her trip back to Langley even though she'd been under strict order not to return until healed. He knew how hard this must be on her, maybe he'd pushed her too much, and after all there were a lot of cases that he wasn't allowed to share with her. He was just about to stop her from going any further, he didn't want to ask this of her, when she said.

"You remember after we got back from Amsterdam and attended Jai's 'star-ceremony' that evening?"

This took a turn towards the unexpected; he'd expected something about Eyal and possibly Mossad. Was she about to share something about Jai? He knew that she'd been at Vesta with Jai before he was killed; maybe she'd gotten some information before that had happened? His interest was piqued and he just couldn't stop her from telling him now.

"Yes, I remember." He said keeping his voice leveled.

"Afterwards I returned to my desk to collect my things, I was so tired and I just wanted to go home."

He remembered how she'd left and it had been then that he realized that he needed to tell her how he felt; that he didn't want her to ever walk away from him again, not without her knowing everything. He'd left shortly after her, he'd gone home to prepare. He nodded in her direction to show her that she could continue.

"Anyway I noticed an envelope on my keyboard, I opened it and there was a note…that said 'meet me at Vesta, tonight. Come alone. You won't regret it.' I remember looking around but no one seemed to pay any attention to me. At first I thought it was a sick joke, I'd promised myself never to return to that place." She paused.

He felt confused, who within the walls of Langley would've been that stupid to ask Annie to meet up at a place like that. It wasn't a secret that Jai had been murdered there and that Annie had been with him, witnessing the whole thing. He felt anger rise in his body, but he kept his calm and waited for her to continue.

"It wasn't a joke," Annie said confirming his thought. "I decided that I needed to know but when I arrived at the diner, it was all so weird…"

He could hear her take a deep breath and he placed a hand on her knee to calm her; he couldn't even begin to imagine how she must have felt returning there. Or maybe he could, he thought back briefly to Doctor Street.

"It was as if nothing had ever happened, everything looked exactly the same."

He nodded. While he hadn't been able to see Doctor Street for himself, he'd known – with every fiber in his body – when he'd arrived, that this was it, the spot. There had been hint of smells that he recognized, but he could tell that the scenery had changed since he'd been there last. There was calm over the place and the sound of children's feet over the ground…just like nothing had ever happened.

"I understand," he whispered and he knew that she understood what he meant.

"I felt disoriented as I stepped inside, but after just a few seconds I saw him, sitting there in one of the far end booths," her voice sounded thick with emotions and he found her hand and held it tightly. "It was Henry Wilcox…" the last part had been more of a whisper but he'd heard it loud and clear. He could feel his body tense and he dropped her hand in surprise. He'd learned a long time ago that whenever Henry Wilcox was involved, it wasn't going to end well. _What have you gotten yourself mixed up in Walker? He thought._

He could sense that she was nervous; maybe she'd expected him to throw a fit upon hearing Wilcox's name. He found her hand again, trying to show that he wasn't angry with her for meeting up with Henry; _he might have done the same thing he thought._

"He rose to greet me and admitted that the whole thing was macabre, but he said that he wanted to see the place for himself and then he asked me to sit down with him…I- I just felt so, it was so weird, but I didn't know what to do. I was tired and just wanted to get the whole thing over with, so I did." She paused briefly, and it sounded as if she was wiping away a tear. He felt sorry for her sake, he knew how loyal Annie was – almost to a fault – and she'd been asked not to share this information, yet here she was.

"He thanked me for coming and sat down opposite me," she continued. "He had the guts to say that he understood that it couldn't be easy for me…" Auggie could hear the change of tone in her voice, she sounded upset. He inched a little closer to her, still holding onto her hand. "I said that it wasn't, easy. And I told him what I told you, that everything in there was exactly like it had been before and all he did was reply with a cliché about how life had a way of moving on or something." He could hear her snort.

"Annie, are you sure- "Auggie began, but he was cut off yet again.

"Yes, Auggie…I need to do this." All of a sudden there was a strength and determination to her voice so he nodded towards her and let her continue. "Henry said that he was aware that Jai might have not painted the rosiest picture of him."

_If only he knew, Auggie thought, flashing back to the numerous times he'd heard Jai complain about his dad._

"But he said that he wanted to make things right…" Annie continued. "And he actually sounded genuine."

"He's good at conning people…" Auggie couldn't help but blurt out. He could feel Annie's gaze on him, she let go of his hand.

"I know." She stated simply but then continued on with her narrative, "I told him that we'd only met like once and that I didn't have any issues with him. He then replied…" Annie got quiet and he could feel the tension building in the room.

_This must be it, Auggie thought. Whatever Annie had felt so conflicted about, this was it. _

"He said that this was about Joan and Arthur. I simply told him that I didn't have any issues with them either. Then he gave me this look…" she paused. "Then he asked me why I didn't kill Khalid in Amsterdam."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, he wasn't sure he wanted to know how Henry Wilcox knew about their mission.

"Yeah, I was surprised too." She said as she must've registered his reaction. "And he said that I should just assume that he knew everything." She added disgust in her voice.

Auggie shrugged, but he knew that it was possible that Henry knew a lot, he'd always seemed to be able to worm himself into things.

"I told him the truth, since I didn't want him to get the pleasure of making me uncomfortable." Her voice had changed yet again, and this time he could hear her courageousness, which was something he'd always admired. "I said that I gave Khalid all the information he needed for him to kill his father, or force his father to kill him. Either way, we'd get a piece of the game board and cause havoc in their ranks. And it couldn't be traced back to the Agency," she finished.

He was a little surprised, the courageousness was there alright, and the determination that had always driven Annie and made her a good spy. But this rhetoric, this way of speaking…it didn't sound like her. Although he had to admit that there was logic in that reasoning and what she'd done – not killed Khalid – had ultimately been the best for her too.

"Henry complemented me on my spy craft, and I just told him that my experience with Lena had taught me a few things."

_Ah, he thought. That's why it hadn't sound entirely like something Annie would plan._

"He then went on to say that he knew that I was the right person for this, and then he slipped me a file…" now her voice sounded weaker, defeated even. He got worried. "He urged me to take a look, I mean at first I wasn't sure that I should, but then I did…and I agreed to help him."

"What?" Auggie blurted out. He couldn't help it. "Annie whatever was in that file, you can't trust Henry Wilcox."

"Auggie…" she said the sadness back in her voice. "I thought so too, so that's why I went into Langley to search for the file, the official file. And that's why I had to end our first date like I did…Henry called and he wanted to talk to me, fill me in on some details, I did a drop exchange for him…" All the things were suddenly pouring out and he had to stay alert to keep up.

"He had you do an unsanctioned drop exchange, who with?" He asked cautiously, but he knew that his irritation slipped through the cracks. It wasn't that he was angry with her, but with Henry…

"A contact of Henry's, a former…Mukhabarat…" the last part came out mostly in mumbles but he made it out and it made his blood turn to ice.

"Annie!" He exclaimed. "What have you gotten yourself into? This- this…isn't," he was at a loss for words. Mukhabarat weren't people to play with and since Henry Wilcox was involved, how reliable was this source?

"Auggie, please…" she sounded desperate and he tried to calm himself. "It's…about what's in that file. I did all of this, or rather I am _doing _all of this for y-…for answers."

He immediately picked up on her change of words, it seemed like she'd been on the verge of saying that she was doing this for him. His heart was racing, he rose from the couch. He couldn't just sit there; he started walking around.

"At first I didn't know very much, but then Henry gradually filled me in and so far it seems to check out…Auggie, I'm sorry…but what I have to tell you…"

"Just say it," it came out harsher that he'd meant it to, but he couldn't care less at the moment. He hated when people saw him as charity, whatever Annie had found out in that file, she shouldn't put herself in danger for his sake, he hadn't asked for her help and whatever it was he could take care of it alone.

"You know when you were in Istanbul, for the jazz festival?" she began slowly. He just nodded towards her; he just wanted her to get to it. "And you found out that Khani was in fact Nasir?"

"Yeah, Annie I remember," again he sounded pissed off even though he knew that it wasn't about her. He knew that he was being unfair at the moment, but the fact that Henry Wilcox had put forward some – probably bogus – file just to get Annie to be his damn slave. He was exploiting Annie's big heart, Henry had known that Annie would say yes, but he wasn't having it!

"The file indicates that Arthur knew about Nasir and him being a terrorist before you were even placed in Iraq…"

He stopped dead in his track. _What, he thought? That didn't make any sense._

"The Agency had tried to keep track of Khani, gathering Intel to persecute him. But in 2007 he dropped off the radar," she was relaying whatever was in that file, he could tell. "The Agency tried to get information about him through assets in Iraq but to no avail. Arthur as the Director of Clandestine Affairs later got Intel that Khani was posing as an American soldier. Apparently things got heated at the Agency; some thought that the Intel wasn't good enough to act on. Henry sent a picture of Khani to his Mukhabarat friend who later replied that he knew of him as Nasir and that he was an Iraqi soldier, thus not infiltrating."

She paused and he just snapped at her to continue.

"Well, Henry went to Arthur with this information and Arthur was desperate to go after Nasir, but it was dangerous. Around this time, your 'close and continuing' with Natasha had been denied and Arthur saw his chance, he knew that you'd want a different scenery, so he sent you to Iraq. Arthur had a connection with General Oubash, so he made sure that you were placed in the unit with Jason, Chris, Billy and Nasir."

He could barely hear what Annie as saying, or rather he couldn't believe it. It was too much. He felt like he wanted to explode, scream and run away, all at the same time. At the mention of those in his unit, his heart had constricted. Could Arthur really have done this, it seemed so weird in hindsight, although a small part of him had to admit that it all sounded too good to be cooked up by Henry Wilcox, but then you never knew.

"Are you okay?" Annie's voice was shaking.

"Yeah, just continue." He demanded.

"Okay…well, everything seemed to be running smoothly, until Arthur found out about Jack of Diamonds. Arthur then changed his mind and direction, reasoning that he was more important to get to. So when he got a report from General Oubash announcing that he'd given your unit a green light to find and kill Jack of Diamonds, Arthur okayed this. But…" there was pain in her voice and he did his best trying to steel himself for whatever came next. "Arthur did this all the while knowing that Nasir had plans to kill off your unit. There were apparently chatter from sources, sources that were also interested in capturing Nasir. Henry again reached out for his source and they confirmed that Nasir had been ordered to use a bomb, but Arthur still signed off and okayed General Oubash's mission for your unit to go after Jack of Diamonds…"

He could hear sobs emanating from the couch, Annie was crying. He was shaking; he went to stand by a wall so that he could have something to lean on.

"Henry said that Arthur endangered you knowingly and that it was due to the bureau's politics. Arthur was new at his job and he wanted to keep Henry at bay and to prove himself. Henry also told me that…the blacked out, redacted pages in the end of the file contains all the signatures, among them Arthurs…but also Joan's. Henry is trying to get a copy of the file before it got redacted, from his Mukhabarat -"

He cut her off this time. Anger filled and raged in his body.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean, huh? Joan's _always _been there for me Annie! Why would she have done something like this? I don't believe it and I can't believe that _you _of all people fell for something coming from Henry Wilcox's mouth! If you're prepared to side with him, over Joan and Arthur, then I don't really know you all that well." He spat out. He didn't know what to do with himself.

"Auggie…" she said pleadingly, but that just angered him more.

"You knew about this and you kept it from me _and_you've decided to side with Henry Wilcox, wow Walker, hitting the jackpot, are we?"

"Please…" she tried again.

"Just get out. Okay? I need- I need to be by myself."

He could hear her stand up from the couch she walked towards him, but stopped before she reached him. She was cautious, which was a good thing. He couldn't be held responsible for his actions now. She then walked out into the hallway, after some digging in her purse he could hear her put something down on the kitchen island. Probably the file, if he had to guess.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice filled with tears. Then she was gone.

* * *

Annie couldn't remember the last time she'd cried this much. She'd cried all the way from Auggie's apartment to her house. She was now sitting down in her arm chair, conjuring up images from that night when he'd come over to tell her about how he felt. Oh, how she wished that she could turn back time. She knew that she'd made a mistake to not read Auggie in immediately upon receiving the file and she was well aware that from where he stood she seemed to be siding with Henry Wilcox. But she wasn't, was she?

_I'm siding with you Auggie, she thought to herself._

It was true; she wouldn't have given Henry any time at all, had this file not involved Auggie. She cared too much about him to let it slide. If there was even the teensiest bit of chance that Henry might be right, she needed to know. The tears started streaming again as she realized that she might've lost Auggie forever. While she hoped that he just needed some time, she wouldn't blame him if he called it off with her. She also realized that she hadn't told Auggie about Henry's latest theory involving Arthur in Jai's murder.

Her hope now was pinned on Auggie doing his own research, which was his forte, she didn't know how many times he'd gotten into his own investigation to save her, and surely he'd do the same for himself. If she was lucky he'd find out more about Henry Wilcox's Intel, but in the meantime she needed to operate as if the Intel was accurate, it was too big a risk not to.

She felt drained with energy, crying this much had really done a number on her. She shifted in her seat and let out a moan as her ribs ached. She was due to take her pain medication; she rose to walk towards the bathroom. After taking her pill she walked over to the big house, it didn't feel as inviting as it had done when Danielle had lived there, but it still felt familiar. She walked through the rooms, when she finally ended up back in the kitchen, the horrible memories of the shooting washed over her. Tears welled up yet again; this year really hadn't been her year. As she sat on the kitchen floor, feeling a slight ache right where she'd gotten shot, she picked up her cell phone. She wanted nothing else than to call Auggie, talk to him, or at least just hear his voice. But she knew that she needed to respect him right now. She dialed another number.

"Dr. Mitchell's office, how can I help you?"

She hadn't been prepared to have her call forwarded to a receptionist; she swallowed and tried her best to sound normal.

"Hi, my name is Annie Walker, and I'd like to talk to Dr. Mitchell now if that's possible."

"Do you have an appointment?" she could hear rustling on the other end of the phone, she was probably checking a calendar.

"No…but I was hoping to talk to him anyway…" she said, her voice still raw from all the crying.

"What did you say your name was again?"

"Annie Walker," she replied.

"I will check, hold on one moment."

After a few minutes she heard a click and then his voice was there. It was amazing how he made her feel safe from a distance like this.

"Annie?" he sounded a little worried, or maybe he was just surprised.

"I'm so sorry, calling like this…" she had to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"No, that's alright. A Langley therapist's never free," he said in a joking manner. It reminded of her Auggie and as if on cue her tears started streaming. "Hey are you alright?" he asked carefully.

"No-…No I'm not," she managed between sobs.

"I heard from Joan Campbell that you were injured, are you able to come over to my office, I could see you right away, or do you need me to come to you?"

"No, um…I can get there, no problem." She said.

"Okay, well then my door's open, I'll see you in a little while."

"Yeah," she was just about to hang up when she decided to add, "Thank you."

"It's what I'm here for," he said, his tone light.

After hanging up she managed to get up from the floor and took a quick detour to the bathroom to clean up, before she went out to her car and drove towards Langley.

* * *

**A/N:** _So, what do you think? Will Auggie and Annie patch things up? Will Dr. Andrew Mitchell be able to help Annie at all?  
_Please review!


	17. Chapter 17 - A Time of Despair

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Thank you all for your lovely reviews! So Auggie's angry, he didn't take the news of the file all that well. What will happen now? Is anger going to cause a split between Auggie and Annie? Will they ever be able to repair things, or will other things come in between their tries?_

* * *

**Chapter 17  
**_A Time of Despair_

Auggie clutched at beer in his hand, it was soon 6 PM and some dinner guests had arrived. Dinner at Allen's wasn't fancy though, mostly nacho-plates or hamburgers. It smelled good and he realized that he hadn't eaten since breakfast, but he didn't have an appetite.

He was still angry, but the alcohol helped keeping him leveled. He had thought about staying at home, last time he'd gone to Allen's after having felt something similar to this, he'd ended up punching a guy. He sighed; staying at home hadn't been an option he would've exploded. Sure, he'd done some quick research, but he hadn't been able to do anything thoroughly – he'd been too angry.

"Hi August," he recognized the voice approaching him.

"Lindsay?" he asked in disbelief, he'd never seen her around Allen's before and he didn't even know that she was back in D.C. He realized that as her handler he was supposed to keep track of these things.

"Hi, I'm sorry do you mind if I sit with you?" she said coyly. He couldn't help but smile. "I didn't think that this place would be almost filled on a Sunday night." She added.

"Well, that's Allen's for you," he replied. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"No, I've never been here; I got back yesterday and had to leave a report with Joan. And well, I felt the need to unwind and I saw this place."

"You've never been here, wow! Then you've surely missed something." He smirked.

"Yeah, well I'm just glad to see a friendly face," she said with a sigh before she took a swig of something from a bottle, probably beer.

"Rough mission?" he asked carefully. He knew that she'd been sent to cultivate an asset in Germany.

"Yeah, or kinda, if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it." She answered.

He nodded; he knew exactly what she meant.

"How are you?" she asked instead.

"I guess I've been better too," he offered.

They sat together quietly for a while.

"August, can I ask you something?" she said. He was on the verge of telling her that she should call him Auggie, but then he reasoned that getting close to operatives weren't such a good idea, Annie crossed his mind for a brief second but he shrugged it away.

"Sure," he said glad to focus on something else.

"It's just that…honestly; the mission didn't go well at all…" she took a deep breath before continuing. "I- I don't really know what happened, but it seemed like she'd been warned about me and my cover before I had a chance to cultivate her properly. In the end I think she was snatched up by Mossad."

He cringed upon hearing her refer to Mossad. The thought about Eyal, even though he'd been quite heroic in his efforts to help save Annie, made him think of him and Annie, he knew that there was unfinished business between the two.

"Things like that happen," he said reassuringly, turning his attention back to Lindsay.

"But Joan, she lashed out at me and…" he could hear how much this whole thing bothered her. She was young and new at this, being an agent. In many way she reminded him of Annie, when they'd first met.

"Joan's simply stating her authority, she might be upset but you did the best you could. I wouldn't worry. She'll come around." He said. But as he sat there defending Joan, he thought about the file that Annie had left with him and everything she'd told him…should he really be defending Joan? He shook his head and emptied his bottle.

"You want another one, I'm gonna grab one too?" Lindsay offered. He thought about it, he'd already drained several and even though he knew that things rarely ended that well when he got drunk while angry, he found himself smiling towards her accepting her offer.

* * *

Annie sat down, she'd tried to clean herself up a little before stepping into Langley, but she was positive that anyone who saw her now would see it written on her face, that she was miserable and while you couldn't see the mascara streaks staining her face anymore, it didn't take a spy to figure out that she'd been crying.

"So, Annie Walker," Dr. Andrew Mitchell started, his voice sounded smooth. She liked it. "Are you okay?" he asked, it sounded casual, not like a therapist. She thought about how she'd answer this question. She didn't want to divulge too much and she wanted to set the tone of this session so that it'd be kept as distancing as possible.

"I don't know what I'm allowed to say." She began the narrative that had begun to form in her mind. Andrew just nodded; he was surely used to this from his patients. "But I did something…kinda stupid." She admitted.

"How do you mean stupid?" he asked when she'd been quiet for a while, not continuing her story.

"I found something out, some Intel." She needed to be cautious, "And well, this information was about a friend of mine and I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. But I knew that my friend…he _needed_ to know this." She could hear her voice take on a desperate tone.

"In what way did this friend need to know this?" Andrew just asked, while scribbling something down in his pad.

His blue piercing eyes distracted her momentarily. She thought about how she was supposed to relay this information to him. As she thought about Auggie she could feel her tears running down her cheeks again, but she didn't even have the energy to care. Andrew didn't say anything, but simply pushed over a box of tissues towards her.

"He nearly died," she started. She'd thought about it, telling Andrew about her friend being blind, would give away too much and it wasn't like there were a lot of blind people working for the CIA. "And it turns out that there are other people behind it…and he just needed to know that."

"I understand." Andrew said, "And did you?" He added.

"Did what?" she asked.

"Did you tell your friend this information?"

"Yes, I did….and it didn't go well. He's angry; angry because I didn't tell him and because he finds the evidence hard to believe."

"That's understandable. This information probably caught him off-guard; he'll get over it I'm sure." Andrew said carefully. "It's common you know, when we're presented with things that we don't want to believe in, for one reason or the other, we usually try to put the blame on someone else. My guess is that you were that _someone else._"

She nodded, it sounded credible, but it didn't make her feel better. Even if she respected that Auggie needed some time to sort through all of this, they'd just started seeing each other and she didn't want to be away from him, not now.

"Annie, I know that I don't know much about you, but with my job come the ability to analyze people and from what I've heard both from you and from Joan, I can tell that you're a great spy. Not because of your fighting skills necessarily," he paused as he seemed to take her in, her expression; he tilted his head to one side, and then he continued. "Some people would say that care is a liability in your line of work, but it's all about balance. And you caring, it's what make you a good spy. You get result by caring, you put everything out there – even yourself at times – because you care."

She nodded. It was true, she did care.

"So, I don't think that you need to worry, this friend of yours, I'm sure he just needs time to process. If you were in his shoes, how would you react?"

She hadn't really thought about it that way and she realized that she'd probably acted the same way.

"There was something else too…" she said. He didn't say anything but seemed to wait for her to continue. She wondered how much time he had, it was getting late. " I've been having nightmares…" she admitted.

"Nightmares, as in more than one?" he asked.

"Yeah…like two," she said.

"What are they about?" he queried.

"The shooting," she said, she stared down at the lush carpet, and it was in an off-white color that looked nice. It looked very soft too. "I mean, I thought that I was over it, it's been quite a while since…" she didn't finish the sentence, she didn't have too.

"We all deal with trauma our different ways and my guess is that you've pushed this horrible event to the side, getting buried in work?"

"Yeah…maybe, but I felt fine."

"And that's normal, but usually it's just your body guarding you, it's a defense mechanism," he explained. "It doesn't mean that you've dealt with what happened, simply that your body it's not ready to deal with it yet. That you're having these nightmares is actually a good sign, it means that you've let your guard down and now you can start to deal with what happened."

She sighed, so even if her body was ready to deal with it now, _she _did feel ready. _Could she possibly put these feelings and memories on hold, she thought._

"So, what do I do?" she asked.

"Talking about it is one way to deal with it, I'm here and considering what you've been through since the shooting, getting abducted and this pressing situation with your friend, well I'd recommend that we keep our schedule, once every other week. And of course, talking to someone else outside of work can be a good thing too, maybe a family member?"

She just nodded, even though she knew that she couldn't possibly talk to Danielle about this, she didn't want to put Danielle through it. Annie knew that her sister was struggling with some regrets about the move, not because she didn't like it, but because she felt that she'd let Annie down, but she hadn't Telling Danielle about the shooting now, would just make her move back and she knew how much Danielle liked California. She thought about Auggie, she'd talk to him…if she could, but at the moment she knew that that wasn't an option either, she just hoped that it would be, soon.

They kept talking for a few more minutes before ending their impromptu session. She did feel a little lighter as she drove away from Langley, but something felt off, she just didn't know what.

* * *

He laughed, for the first time in, he didn't even know how long and it actually felt great. He was still at Allen's and the dinner crowd had been replaced by the slightly louder and tipsier crowd. He didn't know how much he'd been drinking, but it didn't matter anymore. He didn't care.

"Okay, what about…her?" she said, giggling.

Auggie concentrated on the woman who'd just walked by their table.

"She's wearing heels," he started.

"Well, I could tell that too," she laughed.

"I was just getting started," he said feigning defensiveness. "Okay, she was wearing perfume, something blossomy. She's average built. I think that I could detect big earrings too. She's also kinda hot," he finished with a smile.

"Well done," Lindsay said. "But how do you know that she's hot?"

Her question made him flash back to the first time he'd brought Annie here and he'd told her that women didn't think that he cared about looks, since he was blind.

"I can tell, because I can hear how other guys behave around her." He gave Lindsay the same explanation he'd given Annie.

"That's pretty amazing," Lindsay said taking a sip of her drink. It smelled kinda sweet, so he knew that she'd switched from beer to something else. "But besides using your mad women-skills, what do you do, I mean outside of work?" she asked.

He couldn't help but laugh at her statement, but he knew that "using his women-skills" would've been an apt description of what he did outside of work, about six months ago.

"I'm a geek," he said simply, "I love coding, and I sometimes play audio games, which is basically computer games for blind people." He stopped; it felt like he was oversharing and he didn't want that. "What about you?" he added quickly so that she wouldn't have the time to ask him more questions.

"Oh my, I guess it mostly feels as though I don't have any 'outside-of-work'-life but I guess that when I do I love to play the piano," he could hear the hesitation in her voice, he didn't seem to be the only one to have second thoughts about sharing.

"Piano, that's nice!" he said, his interest piqued. "What genre?"

"Mostly jazz or classical, but I play some modern things too." She said.

"Wow, that's great." He said genuinely. "I love jazz," he added.

"You do?" she said disbelief evident in her voice. It was apparent that most people she told this to weren't all that interested.

"Yeah, absolutely," he said smiling at her.

More drinks were consumed on her part and he'd switched to whiskey, he rarely had it but he felt that the buzz was comfortable and it wasn't going to last that long if he kept drinking beers. He didn't really know what he was doing, he knew that she was beginning to sound a little drunk, they'd passed tipsy a while back and he felt the familiar feeling of a loosened up mind.

"Are you married?" she blurted out after a while. He laughed. He thought about his mother, she'd be in heaven if he ever announced that, or rather that he was going to get married. Cut her out of his wedding would not be an option. His mind raced and he had to focus to remember Lindsay's question.

"No. Not married. You?" he asked.

"No, not really," she answered cryptically.

"What does that mean?" he asked in a joking tone. She burst out laughing.

"Sorry, I guess that wasn't much of an answer. Well, I have a boyfriend, we've been together for seven years now and I guess I'm just waiting." She said a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Does Barber know about this boyfriend?" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth, he realized that that wasn't the best thing to start with, but now it was out there.

"Yeah, I told him…we spent some time together after my last mission, and then he called the day after and that's when I told him. I didn't think he'd be interested, so that's why I never said anything when we got together." She admitted.

"Why wouldn't he be?" _What are you doing?! He thought to himself. He wasn't supposed to get invested in the girl._

She laughed softly, but didn't say anything.

"Do you have any idea why he hasn't proposed, have you brought it up?" he asked then.

"Yeah, briefly at times, but even if I don't my mother is good at dropping hints…" she sighed. "I think it's about my work. He doesn't like it."

Ah, he nodded. He could relate there. He thought about Parker.

"Try to share as much as possible with him, make him feel as though he knows about what you're doing and that he has a say in it," he offered.

"Yeah, I- I try to do that, but you're right I guess I could try a little harder. It's just so difficult, I mean I wish I could tell him everything, but whenever I'm about to I can literally hear Joan yelling at me for it. And some things- some things I just want to shield him from. He thinks that D.C. or the US is the best place in the world, but he has no idea what _really _goes on here. I just want him to feel safe."

He thought about what Lindsay had just said, maybe that's how Annie had felt…but yet again he shrugged the thought away, he didn't feel ready to deal with her now.

"I don't even know if he's happy anymore," she added.

"Just tell him what you told me, you don't have to offer him all the gory details about D.C. or the US; just tell him that it's dangerous that you don't want to make him uncomfortable. He'll get around it eventually. You've been together for seven years, that's pretty amazing at our age – as he said this he realized that he had no idea if she actually was his age and he couldn't remember what her file said, but since she didn't object he continued – it took my family a couple of months to wrap their heads around my work and it's basically only one of my brother who really likes and respects what I do, the others are just okay with it."

_To hell with the not-sharing part, he felt like he could see a lot of himself in Lindsay and he wanted to help her._

"Thank you, August." She said.

"Please, call me Auggie." He said.

* * *

Her hand was shaking while she dialed the number, she wasn't even sure she'd get an answer, it was late.

"Hi, it's me." She said, not bothering with any formal introduction. If he'd been awakened by her call, he didn't say so, he didn't even sound bothered, which surprised her. "I- I just wanted to say that it's important to retrieve that file, from your friend, have you gotten any closer?"

She waited for his reply, she knew that she had to make him buy the next thing coming out of her mouth; her heartbeats could be felt in her entire body.

"The rush?" she began. He'd replied just as she'd wanted him to. "It's Monday tomorrow and the more I get to know about this, the more I hate seeing them…especially Joan. I want to end this, for Jai."

That seemed to do the trick.

"Use your contact to get me there. I'll bring it back." She listened to his reply. "Yes, I'm positive." She assured him and then she hung up. It was in motion. She just hoped that this would be enough.

* * *

**A/N: **_So what did you think? What are they up to? Is Lindsay and Auggie getting closer? And what's Annie's plan? And what made her feel off as she left Langley?  
Please _review _it'd make me so happy :)_


	18. Chapter 18 - Monday

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_I'm so, so __**sorry **__for not updating until now. I hope you'll continue reading!_

**I know that a lot of your were wondering what kind of phone call Annie made the last time, you readers only got to follow her part of the conversation, it'll all be revealed in this chapter. You were supposed to get confused. And what about Auggie, he was at Allen's with Lindsay in the last chapter, how did their night end?**

* * *

**Chapter 18  
**_Monday_

Annie woke up early the next day, it was still dark outside. Even though it ached when she checked her phone to see that there were no new messages from Auggie, she felt a new kind of determination this morning. Talking with Dr. Mitchell had given her some inspiration to really follow through on what she'd planned all along, but she had to be careful. She sat up in bed and reached for her laptop that she'd placed on the bedside table. As she waited for it to start, she thought that in order for her to be able to handle Henry Wilcox, much like she did any asset, she had to be crafty. She recalled the phone call she'd made just before going to bed last night. She'd put the first part of her plan in motion and he hadn't suspected a thing.

Annie started looking at plane tickets, even though she was starting to feel better and knew that with the pain medication she could return to Langley, she wasn't in a hurry anymore and she knew that Joan wasn't expecting her back yet, so she might as well do this. She had to admit that now that Auggie wasn't speaking to her, it gave her some space to focus on this very delicate mission. When she'd spoken to Henry last night she'd offered to go to Iraq herself to retrieve the file from his contact, she wanted answers as soon as possible and she didn't trust Henry's Mukhabarat friend and she needed that file. In it were all the answers she needed and Auggie too…she shrugged, she couldn't afford to think about him right now, it hurt too much, plus she couldn't afford the distraction. Henry hadn't been too thrilled about her idea, but when she'd inserted that last phrase _"I want to end this for Jai" _it seemed to have done the trick, he'd bought it. Actually it was because of Henry's venture into Jai's death and the connection he'd made between Arthur and Jai that had made this whole scheme possible.

The cheapest flight was still quite expensive, but lately she'd saved up on quite a lot of money. Living by herself and working the way that she did, she hadn't been spending much. The cheapest ticket she could find was $1332 and that included the return ticket. She'd fly out from Dulles International Airport the next day; she'd have a layover in Doha for 19 hours before continuing to Baghdad. She'd booked herself a return ticket a week later. She'd be gone from December 4rd – 10th, that should give her enough time to work all of this out, she reasoned. She booked the ticket and wrote up an email to Henry.

**To: **Henry Wilcox  
**Subject: **Iraq

_Hi,  
I've found tickets for my trip, there's a flight out tomorrow morning from Dulles which I intend to take. I've booked a week-long trip, giving me enough time to bring the file back with me. If I'm done earlier, I'll just re-book it. I'm going to have to do a layover in Doha for 19 hours; do you know a place where I can stay? Or can your contact fix it? I'll be back on December 10__th__at the latest._

_Tell your friend that I'll be in Baghdad soon; I've attached my flight information in this email._

_Annie._

She knew that she didn't have to ask Henry for a place to stay in Doha, but she wanted him to think that she was relying on him, that she trusted him. She took a deep breath and decided that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, she might as well get up.

* * *

His head was throbbing; it had been a while since he'd had a hangover like this. He grunted as he tried to open his eyes that felt like they were glued together. He sighed; he barely remembered anything from the previous night. His right hand searched his left wrist for his watch; it wasn't there, so at least he'd managed to take it off the other night. He fumbled a little but found it on his nightstand. He pressed the button and the mechanical voice informed him of the time and date. He fell back onto his pillows, but just a few seconds later he jolted upright in bed. He cringed as the motion made his headache even worse. Two realizations had hit him simultaneously, first of all it was Monday and he was expected at work, which he was now extremely late to and secondly he'd remembered that he'd had company the other night, but the "who" hadn't gotten to him yet. Carefully he felt around on the other side of the bed, it was empty, he sighed relieved. He was wearing only his boxers, but that wasn't something out of the ordinary. He then felt that he needed to go to the bathroom, badly. He moaned as he made his way towards the bathroom, the alcohol level from last night had sure done a number on his muscles that ached with every step he took.

He splashed some cold water onto his face, he wasn't looking forward to facing whatever messages might have been left on his cell phone, it was already past noon and he knew that he was beyond late for work. He grabbed his jeans and pulled them on.

"Auggie?"

He froze as he heard her voice behind him. Lindsay. Some parts of the night flashed by and he remembered that she'd been his company throughout the night and apparently she'd spent the night in his apartment, had they...he didn't want to finish the thought. He turned around and tried to offer her a smile.

"Good morning," he said, trying to sound normal.

"I'm so sorry, I must have slept through my alarm!" she sounded exasperated.

"No, it's not your fault." He said feeling disoriented and unsure how to handle this. He didn't want to admit to her that he barely remembered spending time with her the other night and how was he supposed to figure out if they'd been intimate. As he thought about being intimate Annie popped up in his mind, but he firmly shrugged that thought away, he had enough on his plate as it was.

"I hope you don't mind, I made some coffee. Here".

He'd smelled the coffee before she'd offered it to him, but he hadn't really registered it, gratefully he accepted the mug and took a big sip. Coffee usually helped after a rough night like this. He wondered if she was as badly off as him, or if she'd ended up babysitting him the other night. He couldn't help but feel both embarrassed and angry for not remembering more.

"No, I'm glad you made coffee, I'm in dire need of it." He added, remembering what she'd said.

"Yeah, me too." She sighed. Okay, so he could safely assume that she was hungover too, but that didn't tell him much.

"Lindsay..." he started. "I'm sorry but..." he cringed. This was karma he thought, his punishment for getting closer to one of agents, had he not learned his lesson with Annie?

"You're wondering what happened last night?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Yeah..." he admitted, trying to grasp the mood she was in, was she angry? He thought that she had every right to be, he should know better than to get into situations like these.

"Don't worry, it took me a while to remember it too and I'm still not sure if I remember everything." She assured him. "But we had fun last night, we were the last ones to leave Allen's and since you'd had slightly more to drink that I, I decided to order you a Taxi but you didn't seem to remember your address at first so I went into the cab with you, to make sure that you got home alright. Then when we arrived, you told me that I could stay and..." she stopped.

His heart was beating fast and he was bracing himself for whatever came next. He really liked Lindsay, she was a great woman and they'd had fun last night, he remembered that much. He'd valued her company, he'd needed it the other night but he knew that he wasn't looking to start a relationship and his days of sleeping with co-workers were behind him, at least he hoped they were. He also knew - even though he didn't want to admit it - that he loved Annie. He waited for Lindsay to continue and hoped that he'd had the decency not to do anything stupid last night.

"Normally I wouldn't have stayed. I mean, I know you're my handler and I don't want to mix business with pleasure. I mean I told you, I'm in a serious relationship." She sounded defensive, but also nervous; he decided to let her finish before letting her know that he wasn't judging her. "But I was still a bit drunk when we arrived here and I- I didn't want to go home and I was just so tired...I decided that I might as well stay, so I helped you to the bedroom, but don't worry you did the undressing part yourself and I slept on the couch!"

He felt better, even though he'd offered her the bed if he'd been in a better state. But he was pleased to know that they hadn't done anything.

"Hey, I understand that this isn't something that you normally do and I'm not the one to judge anyway, I mean I used to do this, a lot but..."

"But there's someone else now, isn't it?" she uttered the words that he had not been able to express.

"Is it that obvious?" he shrugged.

"I don't know, but I can tell," she said gently.

"You must be a good spy then," he quipped, not knowing what else he was supposed to do.

"Well, I've learned from the best," she quipped back and he couldn't help but smile. Something about this woman was very disarming.

"Have you told her?" since he didn't answer at first, considering he wasn't sure what to tell her exactly, without oversharing she added, "Oh, I'm sorry I don't mean to"

"It's okay," he cut her off, smiling towards her. "I've told her, but um...I guess it's just complicated at the moment, hence everything last night."

"I understand," she said, a thoughtfulness to her voice, "if you ever wanna talk, I'm a good listener too." She said. "But I guess I should head into Langley, there's some stuff that I need to do."

"Of course and thank you he added."

He wasn't sure what it was with her, but something made him feel comfortable. She was a lot like Annie, he knew that, but there was something else but he didn't know what. Even though she'd manage to distract him from reality for a while, he was happy to be left alone. He placed his empty coffee mug in the sink and walked over to his desk, he sank down.

_What am I doing? He thought.  
_But his head started to hurt almost immediately and he knew that trying to sort things out in his head now wasn't a good idea. Instead he knew that he had to face reality, he fished out his cell phone from his pocket, three new messages. He took a deep breath before pressing one of the buttons, the mechanical voice said:

_First message. Arrived today at 6.30 A.M._

Then Joan's voice sounded over the speakers.

_Hi Auggie, I read through your report and we need to talk! This whole thing about Natasha, you have to help me sort through this, I don't know what to make of it. Find me when you get in._

Her voice was strained and he knew that she wasn't happy to find out that Tash had left him a message the way that she had. He wasn't really approving of her methods either, but remembering Annie's file he wasn't entirely sure that he cared about Joan's opinion. He pressed the button again.

_Second message. Arrived today at 8.25 A.M._

Joan's voice again.

_Auggie, where are you? I've tried calling you. We still need to talk and don't think that just because you filed your report on this that it's all over, alright?_

Yeah, she was angry indeed. He thought about skipping the last message, but decided that he might as well listen to it.

_Third message. Arrived today at 11.03 A.M._

_Hi Auggie, where are you man? There's a lot going on here, Joan's been asking where you are. Are you alright?_

He smiled, Barber was nice and he knew that he wasn't putting his co-worker in a fair position. He felt around on the desk surface until he found what he was searching for. The file. He booted up his computer, seeing as he had another type of clearance than Annie, he could access certain files from home. He started typing and the computer buzzed as it searched through the database for the file he wanted. He needed the digital copy of the file that Annie had given him, so that the computer could read it to him, he was pretty sure that Annie had summed it up well, but he needed to hear it for himself. He leaned back as the mechanical voice started.

* * *

Annie was curled up on the couch watching _The Notebook, _she'd done her errands and all that was left to do was packing, but she had time. She'd seen the movie countless times together with Danielle. As the movie reached its end her tears were streaming. _Allie and Noah went through a lot but in the end love conquered, she thought. Maybe there was hope for her and Auggie yet. _Her heart constricted as she thought about him, she knew that he needed space right now and he'd surely reach out to her when he was ready, but she needed him now. She knew that she was being selfish; she'd had the choice to share all of this with him when Henry Wilcox had just approached her and now, now it was too late.

She thought about her trip to Iraq, it wasn't that she was scared or anything, but Auggie knew a lot more about Iraq than she did and it would've been nice to be able to go through some things with him. The thought of the trip reminded her to check her email for a reply from Henry; she grabbed her phone from the coffee table and refreshed her email app. Her heart quickened as she saw that he'd replied.

**To: **Annie Walker  
**Subject: **Re: Iraq

_Ms. Walker.  
I admire your eagerness. I've attached a document with my Mukhabarat contact's info, he'll be expecting you in Baghdad when you arrive, and he'll meet you at the airport. As for the layover in Doha, I've arranged for you to stay with a personal friend of mine, you'll find all that you need to know in the document._

_I expect to be kept in the loop while you're there Ms. Walker, talk to my contact, he'll explain how you can contact me when you're there. And remember, you're on your own; the Agency knows nothing about this. You're not to say anything to Joan or Arthur and if things go south call me, I'll do my best to help. But as far as the Agency goes, they're not behind you on this._

_We're doing this for Jai._

_Henry._

Even over email, Annie thought she could sense the authority of Henry Wilcox but it didn't affect her in the least, she had him exactly where she wanted him. He seemed to believe that he was the one calling the shots. Everything was set, it felt good. But there was a nagging feeling at the back of her head as she headed towards her closet to start packing, the things that Henry had mentioned about the Agency not backing her, it wasn't the first time someone had uttered those words to her. Last time it had been Joan, before she'd taken off to Russia in pursuit of Lena Smith and where had that gotten her? At least back then, she'd had Auggie's support, someone behind her back. But this wasn't even Agency sanctioned, so even if something were to happen to her, no one would even know where to begin, expect for Henry Wilcox, but that didn't calm her.

After having packed some of her things she picked up her cell phone and called Danielle. It went straight to voice mail and while Annie missed her sister's voice, it was actually better this way. She couldn't risk getting emotional over the phone, Danielle would just get suspicious.

_Hi Danielle, it's me. I- um, just wanted to say hi and check in with you. How are the girls and Mike and how goes it with the business? I'm really proud of you sis, you're amazing. I'm going away on a business trip, will be back next week, talk to you then. Love you!_

She'd decided to at least mention a trip so that Danielle wouldn't be worried if she didn't hear from her in a few days and _if _something were to happen, at least Danielle would have something to offer about where she might be. She shrugged, there was no need to get too dark, she was just being precautious she reasoned.

* * *

She felt kind of nervous as she stepped into the cab the next morning.

"Where to Ma'am?" the driver asked.

"Dulles International, please." She stated. She settled into the seat and took a deep breath; at least she wasn't sitting around at home feeling helpless and worthless. She was actually taking action, hopefully it would all be over soon. A thought crossed her mind and she decided that it might actually be a good idea; she pulled out her cell phone and started writing an email. She set the delivery date on the email to December 11th. So if everything went south, Auggie would know everything. She hated that she was keeping this trip from him, but she'd unloaded quite a lot on him the last time, he didn't need to worry about her right now and she needed to keep a straight mind for this mission to be successful. As the cab cruised through the early morning traffic she thought to herself, _this is the last time I'll ever keep something from you Auggie. I promise._

* * *

**A/N:**

I'm so sorry for not having written until now, I guess I just haven't had that much inspiration and I wanted to get it all right! Venturing into Auggie and Annie's private life like this, is something that we don't get to see in the show that much, which makes it harder to write and I always try to capture the essens of the characters, but it's difficult sometimes. But I hope that you all thought that I did a good job and that I haven't lost too many readers! Please **review**and let me know what you thought!

_So how will Annie's trip go, is she going to be able to stay out of trouble? And how will Auggie handle Joan? Will he take Lindsay up on her offer to talk?_


	19. Chapter 19 - Charades

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So Auggie didn't sleep with Lindsay and Annie is on her way to Baghdad to retrieve the file. She made a promise to herself that this would be the last time she ever kept something from Auggie, will she be able to keep it? How will Baghdad treat her? Will Auggie get any closer to finding answers himself?_

* * *

__**Chapter 19  
**_Charades_

His alarm was blaring, but he was already wide awake. Auggie calmly pressed the 'off' button on his alarm clock, the silence filled the room. He hadn't gone into work at all yesterday, he hadn't even bothered to call or email Joan an explanation for his absence and a part of him had expected to find Joan on his doorstep, but no one had shown up.

_Not even Annie_. The thought crossed his mind but as per usual these days, he shrugged it off. He didn't have the strength to deal with her too, even though he knew in his heart that he was being slightly unfair, sure Annie had lied to him but she'd also been put in a really difficult position and she was an agent after all so he understood her hesitation to tell him before she had anything concrete, but still...

He'd spent the previous day in front of his computer with the file. It had seemed legit. Everything was there, the things that Annie had told him. He couldn't really grasp the enormity of it all, the fact that Arthur had put him in the field to go after an Agency-known terrorist, without giving him the Intel about it. He'd been sent in blind, no pun intended. He scoffed, he didn't know how to handle that information and while he didn't doubt that Arthur's signature were among those redacted out, he still had his doubt about Joan's signature being there too, it made no sense and the file didn't mention her anywhere, not that that necessarily meant anything. He sighed. The fact that Henry Wilcox had presented this file to Annie also made him suspicious, when had Henry Wilcox ever offered information without gaining something himself? And as far as Auggie could tell, Henry had nothing to gain in helping him or Annie with this. But he had to admit that Henry doctoring CIA-files just to give it to Annie didn't seem like a plot worthy of Henry, he'd do something more dramatic in that case. Auggie ran a hand through his tousled hair, he was tired due to all of this eating away at him he hadn't been able to sleep all that well.

While he'd been sitting in the dark - even if it was just sitting for him - he'd decided that he wouldn't confront Arthur or Joan just yet. He needed more information and he also knew that he couldn't afford Joan getting suspicious about this; she couldn't know what he knew, so he had to smooth things over with her this morning. He hadn't been into work at all yesterday after having sent her the information about Natasha and he had to sort all of that out, his plan was to get into the office early so that he could talk to her before everyone else got there. He sighed as he got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.

As the warm water embalmed him, he couldn't push Annie out of his thoughts anymore. It was something about the warmth of the water that made him think of her, her soft skin, her gentle touch, her body next to his. He missed her. But he knew that he just didn't have the energy to put on a brave face for her benefit at the moment, he just needed some time. All this information, it was a lot to handle and while he wanted to make up with Annie - he loved her after all - he'd do it in time, she'd surely understand. Maybe he'd send her an email, to let her know that time was all he needed.

An hour later he was sitting in one of the service cars, on his way into Langley, he knew that it'd be a tiresome day, putting on a charade to fool everyone around him wasn't going to be easy or fun. But he'd done it before. After his return from Iraq he'd done the same, people had coddled him, taken pity on him, he'd hated it but he had also handled it. He took a deep breath and leaned into the comfortable seat, he'd make it, he thought.

* * *

Annie felt a little nervous; she was just about to board her plane. She checked her cell phone one last time, no missed calls, no messages and no new emails. Not that she'd expected Henry Wilcox to offer her a tearful goodbye, but maybe just a "safe trip", she shrugged._ You can't be that lonely Annie. _She thought to herself. She showed her plane ticket and was ushered forward, to her surprise there were quite a lot of people boarding; most of them seemed to be Iraqi's. As she sat down in her seat she felt the butterflies again, this was the first time since Russia that she did something like this - going off books - she swallowed hard. _It'll be alright_, she reasoned with herself. She took one last look at her cell phone, still nothing._ Okay, here goes._ She thought as she turned off her phone and went completely off the grid.

"Miss, can I get you anything?"

One of the flight attendants was standing by her side smiling brightly. Annie asked for tonic water and studied the young woman as she scrambled together a little cup, filled it with ice and poured tonic into it. Annie knew that that woman had to put on a smile no matter how badly things were, or how badly people treated her and she had no way out. She felt sorry for her somehow. She accepted her beverage and smiled towards the flight attendant, thanking her. Much like her, Annie knew that she couldn't run either, even though her stomach was now in knots and without knowing if she'd get out of this whole thing. Had she really made the right choice? She missed Auggie, he was usually the one she called while in the field and in doubts, but she knew that she couldn't lean or depend on him this time, she had to be strong. Pictures of Lena flashed by, she cringed.

"Excuse me?" She called out to the flight attendant that had made her way down the aisle. "Could you make this a gin and tonic?" She blushed, but the young woman just smiled and replied "certainly". Within seconds she'd gotten her added gin and took a big gulp out of the cup. Soon she felt the alcohol kick in, she relaxed a little. She rummaged in her carry-on for the file, she knew that she wouldn't find anything new, she knew that file through-and-through, but she still began reading it, word for word.

She'd dozed off for a while, when she opened her eyes she could smell food. Apparently she'd slept through the lunch serving, but she didn't mind, she wasn't all that hungry. She fished out her laptop and opened up the search engine and put in the name: Hakim Bashir, it was the name she'd gotten from Henry, it was his Mukhabarat contact. She started scanning through her results, most of them concerning someone else. After about half an hour she gave up, she could feel her stomach rumbling, maybe she was hungry after all. She felt annoyed, she wanted to find out more about Bashir, but without the Agency's databases she was at a loss, but maybe she could get someone else to do the search for her...

"Miss, would you like your lunch?" the same young flight attendant from last time approached her.

"Yes, thank you."

Annie knew that she couldn't ask Auggie and while she trusted Reva, she couldn't ask her to do something that wasn't Agency sanctioned; at least not without an explanation and that she couldn't offer. And she really couldn't ask Henry to give her any more information either; he'd just get suspicious as to why she'd want to get information on his source. It'd give her away and she couldn't have him know that she didn't trust him. She ruminated on the thought while she ate her travel meal, which was pretty good but she didn't register any taste, as her mind was running high-speed.

* * *

_Damn traffic_, he thought as he swung open the doors to the DPD which was now buzzing with life. He didn't bother dropping by the tech-op area but walked straight towards Joan's office. He carefully placed a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called out from behind the door.

He took a deep breath before walking in.

"I know that we need to talk, and I'm sorry." He began before she could say anything else. She was quiet, probably considering his punishment, but he stood his ground.

"Sit," she just said and he did as he was told. He could hear her get up from behind her desk.

"I owe you an explanation," he said pausing as he heard her pull up a chair to sit closer to him. At least she seemed willing to listen, that was a good sign he thought. "I know that I should've talked to you yesterday, but it was all very weird...and I know that I should've told you immediately about Natasha, but I- I just felt like I owed it to her, to talk to her first. I knew that there was a reason as to why she went through such measures to get my attention."

"And what did she say?" Joan, asked firmly, but calm.

"Honestly, it seemed to be a show-off." He said.

"What do you mean show-off?"

"She told me that she'd done a lot of work in Turkey with this great group of people, they'd done a lot of things, powerful things and she wanted me to join them."

"When you say that they'd done a lot of powerful things, you mean hacking our drones?"

"Yes, among other things..." his voice trailed off.

"And do you want to join them?"

"Well, her argument was that I don't get much autonomy here, but I explained to her that I couldn't. That I want to stay here."

He could hear Joan get up from her chair; she was walking around the office. He waited for the blow.

"I'm glad that you're staying here. We need you Auggie."

He was surprised hearing her react this way, but just nodded.

"Thanks," he added, a little disoriented.

"I take it that you told her that hacking us isn't acceptable means for her to contact you?"

"Of course," he said firmly.

"Good. Then we're fine, I still have to file your report, but I don't think that you need to worry about Natasha."

"Thanks..." He felt a little suspicious, why was Joan being this nice to him? Was it because it was about Natasha, and that Joan knew how Arthur had exploited their break-up to get him to Iraq to chase a terrorist? He felt dizzy as he stood to walk out of Joan's office.

"And Auggie?"

He turned around to face her.

"If you need to take time off work, you need to tell me. I can't have you disappear on me like that, alright? I'll let it slide this time, you've put in a lot of over-time over the years, but I can't have this kind of behavior in my division, do you understand?"

"Of course, thank you." He said feeling a little more relieved, at least that was a reaction that felt like Joan. He walked down towards the tech-op area.

"Hey man!" Barber greeted as he stepped through the doors.

"Hey," he said back.

"Was she mad? Man you should've seen her yesterday!" Barber exclaimed.

Auggie couldn't help but smile at his blubbering co-worker. He told Barber that it was fine and that he barely got a slap on the wrist. He sat down behind his desk and picked up where he'd left off, he had some diagnostics to run. An hour later he felt the need for caffeine and rose to his feet, when Annie was around she usually offered him a cup when she got in, he'd always liked that. He made his way towards one of the vending machines; he didn't feel like going all the way down to the in-house Starbucks, even though their coffee was a hundred times better. Banning Annie from his thoughts had been way easier at home, here her absence was felt, and he was used to hearing her walking down the corridors, sneaking a scent of her sometimes and since they'd been together she usually came over to talk to him. His anger was subsiding, he knew that and he missed her. But until he knew just a little bit more about this whole file-thing, he didn't want to contact her, he'd only end up disappointing her because he just couldn't be the boyfriend she deserved at the moment.

* * *

Annie had found her bag and as she walked through Doha International Airport, she felt energized, the way she normally felt during missions. Her ribs weren't aching all that much and the weather was pretty nice, even though it was winter in Doha the temperature was mild, the flight attendant had told them that it was 59 °F outside, which wasn't too bad, it was better than in D.C.

When she got outside, she saw a beautiful woman holding a sign with her name on it. She carefully approached her.

"Jawa?" She asked.

"Yes, are you Annie?" he English was laced with a thick accent but it sounded pretty sweet. Henry had told him that his personal friend, Fariq and his wife Jawa would take care of her during her 19 hour layover in Doha.

"Yes," she said offering the woman a smile. She was younger than she'd expected, maybe a few years older than herself.

"How was your flight?" she queried as they made their way towards a parking structure nearby.

They engaged in some small talk all the way to the house, she felt really welcomed as Fariq came and carried her bags and asked the same polite questions as his wife had done about her flight. Then she met their three kids, who immediately wanted her to play with them.

After a lovely meal she went into the room that they had assigned to her. She was very tired, she'd been in the air for 12 hours and 30 minutes and she just wanted to sleep. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for bed when she realized who she could ask to do her search for her, someone who had access to the right kinds of databases.

* * *

**A/N: **_So it seems like Auggie is finally letting go of some of that anger, but will that help at all right now since he won't reach out to Annie until he finds some more answers. And who is Annie going to involve in her search to obtain more information on Hakim Bashir? And how will it go when she arrives in Baghdad?_

Please **review **and let me know what you think!


	20. Chapter 20 - On The Same Track

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So does Annie keep referring to and how will her layover in Doha turn out? And what is Auggie up to, he's back in Joan's good graces and he's back to running diagnostics in Tech-Op but will that be all? Great Minds think alike - is something that will permeate, at least the beginning of this upcoming chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 20  
**_On The Same Track_

Annie felt stiff after yet another flight, when she landed in Baghdad the temperature was slightly lower than it had been in Doha, but the humidity embalmed her body and she could feel her shirt clinging to her chest. She looked for Hakim Bashir as she stepped outside the airport, but there was no sight of him anywhere. At first she thought that maybe she'd gotten some detail wrong, but after a few minutes she saw a man approach her. The picture she'd gotten from Henry had be a serious one, Bashir had been dressed in formal attire and the look on his face had been stern, so it came as a surprise when she saw the man in reality. He had on him a simple shirt and cargo pants, the white shirt stood in stark contrast to his dark complexion and he wore sunglasses even though the sun wasn't all that bright.

"Annie Walker," he said and offered her a smile. His English was a near perfect, with only the slightest hint of an accent.

"Hakim Bashir," she replied and extended her hand towards him, he shook it gently. She was still cautious but the man before her didn't seem all that terrifying and he looked just like any other man around. Maybe there was such a thing as retirement, even for Agents like them.

Again she got the usual polite questions about her flight and then he asked her about Doha. In one way she just wanted to jump right into the whole file business, but she knew that she had to tread lightly and she reminded herself that she was there because she couldn't trust this man or Henry Wilcox. They arrived at his house about 20 minutes later.

"Do you wish to eat something?" he asked. She knew that it was past noon over here and she was a little hungry, she'd only eaten a light breakfast this morning.

"Yes, thank you." She replied. Hakim called out to someone in the house, Annie understood the occasional word, but Arabic wasn't her forte, her thoughts immediately drifted to Auggie. _He'd be able to help,_ she thought. A few moments later a man in his teens came out to greet her, he offered to take her bag and show her to her sleeping quarters. She accepted his help and followed him into the house, it was simple but decorated with colors and beautiful artwork.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do," the young man said upon reaching a bedroom at the far end of the house. There was a simple cot that sat directly on the floor and a small chest beside it.

"I will, thank you. By the way, where's the bathroom?" She asked before he disappeared, he seemed eager to leave her alone. He probably wasn't used to seeing other women and especially not a foreign one. He kept silent but pointed to a closed door nearby.

As soon as she was left alone she changed her clothes, the humidity had practically drenched her current ones. The cool breeze was welcomed as she undressed down to her underwear. As she rummaged through her bag she found a tunic and a pair of thin, flowy pants. She shot a glance at her laptop, after lunch she'd ask Bashir where she could get Internet access. She'd figured out whom to ask for help even though it was selfish to even to think about it but she couldn't see another way. She sank down on the bed, she was tired and jet lagged. She picked up a burner phone that Bashir had provided her with. She didn't want anything that she did here to be connected to her or the Agency. The display said that it was 12.28 P.M. local time, which meant that it was 04.28 A.M. in D.C. She thought about Auggie, he was probably still asleep. She couldn't help but wonder if he missed her at all, even though he didn't know about her whereabouts, she was still on sick leave and absent from work.

* * *

Auggie was wide awake, he'd been listening to the file again over and over again and was determined to find answers. He couldn't ask Henry Wilcox for help, not that he wanted to, plus that'd surely put Annie in trouble and he didn't want that either. He had to find other measures. He'd thought about it, even if Henry had doctored with the file at all, there had to be an original copy somewhere. He wanted to reach out to a friend in Tikrit, they'd met when he'd been in Iraq and he was a great computer scientist, Auggie knew that if anyone could find that file it'd be him. He knew that his friend usually went to lunch at 1.00 P.M. local time, which was in ten minutes. Even if it was nearly five in the morning, he felt energized, he wanted answers.

Ten minutes later he was sitting by his desk, his computer turned on and the contact info to his friend on the screen. He pressed in the right numbers on his phone and waited for the dial tone.

"Hello?" the man on the other end answered, he must have seen that the number calling him was international.

"Hi, Yahya it's Auggie," he replied.

"Auggie?" The man sounded surprised. "It's been a long time my friend." He added.

He switched to Arabic.

"It has been indeed. I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a huge favor to ask of you."

"Anyway I can help," Yahya said instantly. Auggie smiled, he knew that he could count on him. He started telling him about the file, not all the details, but the need-to-know and got him up to speed.

"Can you help me?" he asked when he'd finished. The man on the other side was silent and Auggie got an unsettling feeling.

"I will help you." Yahya answered, "But it might take a while, things aren't the way they were when you were here five years ago. It's very strict, but I will do my best." He promised.

"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, I'd appreciate anything you can get a hold off." Auggie said. "I don't want to put you in any danger though..." he trailed off.

"It's okay, I know what to do. But it'll take time. I will let you know when I find something, if I find something."

"Thank you Yahya, I'll owe you one."

"Yes, you will. But you saved me once, now it's my turn."

When they'd hung up Auggie felt a surge of relief he knew that he was on the right track, he just hoped that Yahya wouldn't put himself in any danger, he was a good friend. He had to be at work in just two hours, so he might as well stay up. He walked over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, he felt around inside, he decided to make an omelet before heading into work. Another day of acting oblivious, he thought. He wondered if Annie was still in contact with Henry and what he had her do. His thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone rang. The mechanical voice called out "Langley, Langley."

"Anderson," he answered, wondering who was calling him this early.

"Auggie, you- um...need to get over to Georgetown Hospital, now." Barber's voice sounded distressed and frazzled. His heart almost stopped, was it Annie? He knew that she'd sustained quite the injuries lately.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"It's Lindsay...and she says that she'll only talk to you." Barber explained.

For a second he was relieved that Annie wasn't the one in the hospital, but concern for Lindsay quickly replaced the relief.

"I'm on my way," he replied without wasting any time.

* * *

Annie was sitting in the shade outside the house. Bashir's wife had served them food but not joined them, she presumed it was because she and Bashir were to discuss business, but during the meal Bashir had only brought up trivial things to discuss. When Bashir's wife had cleared off the table she took her chance.

"Have you gotten anywhere with the file?" she asked.

"You Americans, very direct." Bashir mumbled as he stared towards the horizon. Annie wondered if it were Americans in general or maybe just her and Henry Wilcox, she cringed as she didn't really care for being compared to that man, but on the other hand she was eager to get her hands on that file. At the moment it felt like the file was her life line, the only thing that she had going for her in this scenario.

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically, "it's just that I want to get on with this case as soon as possible, what's in that file is very important to me...or to a friend of mine." She added the last part, hoping that it would make Bashir take pity on her, anything to get him to act as fast as possible. He met her gaze, he seemed to contemplate what to tell her next.

"You're doing this because you love someone." He said matter-of-factly and while this was exactly the reaction she'd wanted from him, she couldn't help but blush. "I will talk to one of my contacts in the army," he added, still watching her intently. "He'll be able to help us out."

She nodded, somehow she liked the sound of "us", seeing as she didn't know what kind of cover she could use here to get to the file. If Bashir was willing to help her though, it'd be much easier but she was also aware that she couldn't completely trust him either. She just had to do the best she could in this situation, exploit him if she had to, she just needed to get to the file.

"When will you contact him?" She asked carefully.

"It's still lunch time now, but I will do it later today," he said and this time he offered her a weak smile. She wasn't sure what that meant or if it implied something, but she shrugged it off.

"I was also wondering, is there someplace here where I can get Internet access?" she added.

"I have Internet, but it's very slow. There's an Internet café in town, it's within walking distance or I can ask Malik to drive you."

"Oh, that's alright, I'll walk." She said, she didn't want to force the young boy to take her. The thought of taking a walk felt like a good idea anyway, it would give her time to think about how to proceed with her mission. Bashir promised her that he'd contact his friend in the army while she was away and that by the time she'd get back, he'd surely have an answer for her. She thanked him and collected some of her belongings and started her walk towards the town.

* * *

Auggie had finally gotten through questions and proved his clearance to the hospital staff, since Lindsay wasn't being held at the ER he hadn't heard a single voice that he recognized, but surely they had a lot of staff so the chances of him running into one of the nurses or doctors that had treated Annie wasn't all that big. When he entered the right hallway that led to where they held Lindsay he heard Joan's voice as well as Barber's.

"Auggie, good you're here." Joan called out, in a few seconds she was by his side and he didn't have to use his cane to get around.

"What happened?" he asked. Seeing as Lindsay wasn't kept in the ER, suggested that whatever had happened wasn't life-threatening at least. Joan stopped in her tracks and he sensed that she needed to tell him something, he got a weird feeling, usually Joan was pretty direct when it came to situations like these, Annie might be the exception but that was only because Joan knew how close they were and Joan wasn't aware of the fact that he'd spent a night with Lindsay, getting to know her better which meant that she didn't have a reason for hesitating to tell him anything that might have happened to her.

"Do you know anything about Agent Hanson's partner?" she requested.

The question threw him off, what was this about?

"No, not really. I know they'd been together for a few years," he replied. Okay, he knew exactly how many years they'd been together, but he felt like he'd been put on the spot, but he'd tell Joan the truth if he had to, he decided.

"On our file it says that they'd been together for 7 years and that all had gone well with the debriefing about her working for the Agency. Do you know if they were having troubles?"

He sighed. He wasn't going to get out of this, he might as well be straight forward after all he knew that he hadn't done anything wrong. They were simply two co-workers who had gotten drunk together, nothing had happened.

"No, I spent an evening with her at Allen's this Sunday and she mentioned that he had a little difficulty with her being with the CIA, but the way she talked about it, it didn't seem that serious. I mean every couple has some trouble adjusting, right? It's hard to keep secrets and not being able to be completely honest." Parker crossed his mind and he winced but continued. "I gave her some tips, but I mean, everything seemed fine. She told me that she wanted him to ask her to marry him." He waited for Joan to reply, but she stood quiet.

"Did you sleep together?" she asked.

His eyebrows shot up, for a second he couldn't believe that she'd even ask him that, but then he remembered that she didn't know about him and Annie.

"I'd never sleep with a woman who's spoken for!" He clarified, knowing that he sounded defensive.

"I'm sorry, I just want to know all the facts." Joan said. "Do you think that Lindsay's partner might have suspected that the two of you did sleep together?"

"We didn't sleep together, she just helped me home since I was pretty drunk. But I have no idea if he got that idea, or what she might have told him about where she'd spent her night. When we got to my apartment I apparently told her that she could stay over if she wanted to. She spent the night on the couch and I didn't ever remember any of it, she told me all of this Monday morning."

Joan was quiet and he realized that what he'd just told her might have put him in a weird position, seeing as he hadn't shown up for work that day. He'd blamed it all on Natasha, but now, maybe she thought that he just hadn't shown up because he'd been hungover. Although he wasn't too worried, Joan would probably think that his excessive drinking had been related to the whole Natasha-debacle.

"So you didn't talk to her at all after she left Monday morning?" Joan asked.

"No." It then dawned on him that when Lindsay had reiterated to him the bits and pieces of their night that he couldn't remember, she'd said – as an explanation for her staying – that she hadn't wanted to go home, she'd also implied that it was because she'd been so tired but what if she hadn't wanted to go home because for a particular reason. He searched his mind, how had she said it exactly?

_"…and I didn't want to go home." _  
Had she sounded sad, scared, anything? He wasn't sure, he couldn't remember. He'd been busy thinking about himself. He felt a lump in his throat as he asked. "Joan, what happened?".

"It seems as though she was badly beaten by her partner when she got home, when the police asked the neighbors they said that they'd heard fighting but that it happened at times, so they thought nothing more of it. He apparently left the apartment afterwards, the police are searching for him now. Lindsay managed to place a call to the last number dialed, which happened to be Barber and he called me…"

After that first phrase, he couldn't take anything else in._ She'd been beaten?!_ He could feel anger rise in his body but at the same time he felt guilty, she'd asked him if he'd wanted to talk during that Monday morning and he hadn't reciprocated at all.

"She wants to talk to you," Joan's voice pierced his thoughts and he nodded.

Joan guided him towards Lindsay's room and he could barely breathe, was he somehow responsible for this? It sure felt like it. He could feel Joan stop and he heard her opening a door, he stepped inside and pulled out his cane so that he wouldn't walk into anything.

"Auggie?" her voice sounded weak, he walked towards it.

"Hey, I'm here..." he whispered, he found a chair and settled down. So much for not getting personal with his co-workers he thought briefly, but he didn't care anymore, he wanted to be there for her. "Is this the reason why you didn't want to go home the other night?" he asked, pain lacing his words.

* * *

Annie felt quite out of it when she finally arrived at the Internet café in town, she wasn't used to this kind of humidity. She paid an older woman who sat behind a desk and in return she got a plastic card to swipe at a computer in order to be able to log in.

As she opened up her email client she took a deep breath, she knew that this really wasn't fair and she didn't want to use him, but she had no other way out and there were very few people she felt she could trust with this task.

**From:** Annie Walker  
**To:** Eyal Lavin

_Hi Eyal,_  
_I hope that you'll read this email onboard _The Flying Lavin_ and that you're currently overlooking Athens from the sea. I however am in Baghdad at the moment, it's a long story and I'm terribly sorry for bothering you with this, I don't even know if you actually left Mossad, can an Agent really quit? I've been asking myself that these last couple of days._

_Anyway, I wouldn't ask you for help if it wasn't important. It's a long story and I promise I'll tell you everything within time, but for now, all I'm going to give you is a name: Hakim Bashir, he's an ex (see, there it is again, can you really be an ex Agent?) Mukhabarat and I was wondering, if you still have access to the Mossad databases, if so could do a search for me and let me know what you find out about him? I'm currently staying with him and his wife and son, but I don't really trust him...again, it's a long story. I'm so sorry, but time is of the essence and I'd really appreciate it if you could do this for me._

_I will stay here until the 10th and then I'll fly back to D.C. hopefully with everything I need from here. I don't have email access at the house, but I'll come down to this Internet café once every day. Anything you can find and I'll be eternally grateful . Also, I'll owe you one!_

_I hope that you're good. Our goodbyes (even if you promptly neglect to call them that) are always so abrupt, don't you think and you're great at making yourself disappear...I miss you Eyal._

_Thanks for everything._  
_Love,_  
_Annie._

* * *

**A/N: **As a lot of you thought, Eyal was the person Annie was going to reach out to. Will he be able to help her out? What's Lindsay going to tell Auggie and are they now going to become closer to one another? **What do you think? Please let me know what you think, **review.


	21. Chapter 21 - Do You Promise?

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Will Eyal help Annie out and what will Auggie find out about Lindsay's past? _

* * *

**Chapter 21  
**_Do you promise?_

"I'm sorry..." she whispered, it was barely audible but he heard it loud and clear. Something about the way she said it made him cringe.

"Hey, you have _nothing _to be sorry about!" he assured her, firmness in his voice. "None of this is your fault." He carefully let his index finger trace the outline of her hand, he was careful as he didn't want to hurt her. "Lindsay," he said softly, "was this the reason why you didn't want to go home the other night?" he tried asking again.

"Auggie," she started. He could hear her shift in bed and before he could tell her to take it easy, she let out a gasp of pain.

"Are you alright?" he scrambled to his feet, ready to help her if she needed it.

"Yes," she said but it sounded forced and he knew that she was just saying that, she was an Agent after all. He sat in silence, waiting for her to take the first step, he didn't want to put any pressure on her. She'd talk when she was ready.

"This wasn't the reason I didn't want to go home the other night," she whispered after a while.

"Okay," he replied calmly, even if he had is doubt about it as he recalled what Joan had said about Lindsay's neighbors hearing fights frequently. "Has he ever hit you before?" he asked, he clenched his jaw, trying to not let the emotions get the better of him. When she didn't reply, he felt a sadness overwhelm him.

"I'm sorry..." she said again. He just sighed, he wished that he could do something to convince her that this wasn't her fault, that she deserved much better than this. He could feel her squeeze his hand and he squeezed back.

"I'm here if you want to talk about it," he insisted.

"I would but I'm tired, because of all the drugs," she explained.

"Why don't you sleep for a while and I'll be here when you wake up," he proposed.

"Do you promise?" she asked, her voice shaking. It tugged at his heart, she was obviously scared. He wondered what this man had done to her before.

"I promise," he said.

A few minutes later her breathing sound was more even, she was asleep. At first he sat there with her, but after a while he felt a need to stretch his legs and possibly grab a cup of coffee, she'd surely be out for a while so he'd be back before she would notice that he was gone. He slowly made his way out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

"Auggie?" He turned towards Barber's voice. "How is she?"

"She's shaken and scared," he said as he sat down beside his co-worker. "Are you alright?" he asked. He and Barber rarely had a heart-to-heart, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he knew how much he cared about Lindsay.

"I'm fine," he said, but Auggie could tell by the pitch of his voice that he wasn't. Barber was usually very talkative, but at the moment he seemed closed-off which Auggie respected and he understood better than anyone the need to be left alone when something like this happened. He remembered how he'd snapped at Barber when Annie had been in the hospital.

"Have you seen her medical file?" Auggie queried, changing the subject away from Barber.

"Yeah..." Barber said with a sigh. It confirmed what he'd already feared, that whatever was in that file wasn't pretty.

"Have you spoken to the police?" he asked.

"Only briefly, they said they'd be back later." Barber replied.

They sat in silence for a while before Auggie dared to ask.

"What was in it, in the medical file I mean?"

* * *

She'd stayed at the café for about half an hour after having sent her email, mindlessly browsing through American news and other sites, just in case Eyal would write her back immediately. But she soon realized that that wasn't happening, not that she'd expected anything else. As she walked back towards the house she took in the surroundings, it was a beautiful day and when she walked by the market place she breathed in all the scents, she stepped a little closer and the tangy scent of cinnamon appeared. The noise and commotion around her, the laughter of children, made her feel less lonely in this foreign place.

When she got to the steel gate outside the house she heard muted voices coming from the garden, she walked towards the corner of the house and peeked around it. Bashir was standing with his back turned against her and now he was yelling at the man standing in front of him. Neither of them seemed to have noticed her so she carefully took a few steps back, when she'd made sure that she was out of sight she focused on listening to what they were saying. She couldn't make out most of it, they were speaking quickly and it was a heated conversation and though it sounded as an argument she couldn't be sure. She was just about to go back into the house since she didn't want to get caught eavesdropping, when she caught the word: ملف, which was the Arabic word for "file". Her heart started beating rapidly. _Were they talking about her file? _She thought. Before she could decide what to do next the man who was foreign to her said:

"I think we have company," his accent thick but the disapproval of his voice was evident. She felt embarrassed as she stumbled forward, trying to act innocent and oblivious, after all she wasn't supposed to know any Arabic. She looked at Bashir, but he avoided making eye contact with her. The other man however gave her a dark look, a look that made chills run down her spine.

"Annie Walker, say hi to my friend Mahrus Ghannouchi." Bashir barked out, it sounded like an order. Annie's spy-sense immediately kicked in and in just a few seconds she'd run through her escape routes in her head, just the way she'd been trained. She plastered on a fake smile and reached out a hand to the burly man who seemed to be in his fifties.

"Hi," she said sweetly.

Ghannouchi shook her hand but said nothing in return. After a few moments of silence Bashir cleared his throat and announced.

"He found your file."

Annie couldn't believe it, was her luck finally changing? She tried to compose her features, not wanting to let them know how happy she felt.

"Does he have it?" she asked, not addressing Ghannouchi even though he was close enough for her to be able to smell his cologne. It was an overbearing scent and she tried her best not to breathe through her nose.

"It's more complicated than that," Bashir said, a seriousness to his tone. "We will discuss it later, now please, would you go back into the house?" the last part was laced with irritation. He clearly didn't want her there and for whatever reason, Annie couldn't risk not knowing why that was. She stumbled forward slightly, but Bashir caught her. She blushed and apologized before she made her way into the house.

She seemed to be alone. Maybe Bashir's wife and son had gone out for the day, she took off her shoes before stepping onto the rug covered floor. She hurried down towards her room where she dug around in her bag until she found what she was looking for: an earpiece. She switched it on and inserted it in her ear. Auggie had taught her well, she thought as she settled down on the bed listening in on the men's conversation over the bug she'd planted on Bashir when she'd pretended to fall.

_"What is she doing here?" _Ghannouchi boomed. He sounded really upset and Annie almost felt sorry for Bashir being in the line of fire.

_"It's a favor and this is what we have to do." _Bashir replied and Annie was confused, she understood the favor part, she knew that Bashir had taken her in as a favor to Henry, but what did_ 'this is what we have to do' _mean? She continued to listen. When she heard them closely like this, without any distractions or interruptions she could puzzle together the pieces more easily and understand at least most of their conversation.

_"She seems clueless?" _Ghannouchi said. Was that a question or a statement? She couldn't be sure.

_"Yes," _Bashir replied. After that the conversation picked up in speed and intensity so Annie had trouble following, she thought about turning off the earpiece when the conversation suddenly calmed and she heard Ghannouchi's voice clearly.

_"She can't know that you have the file. She can't get a hold of it. We have to protect our country and..."_

There was a crackle and Annie couldn't make out the whole sentence, but what she'd heard stunned her. They were playing her and Henry! Bashir had the file and they seemed to connect that file to the safety of their country as well as to something else, unfortunately she didn't know what that 'something else' was. She cursed under her breath, _what the hell was she supposed to do now? _She thought as she ran a hand through her hair.

* * *

Auggie paced up and down the hallway, having heard Lindsay's file he had trouble containing the anger he felt. Apparently she'd been hit before, although horrible it hadn't been all that bad, mostly bruises. But this time, he winced as he thought about it. She had a fractured collar bone, a few broken ribs as well as some cuts and bruises in her face. He couldn't believe that a man could do that, could lose it like that, at least not towards someone he supposedly loved. He pressed a button on his watch, it had been almost an hour. He'd better head back to Lindsay's room, after all he'd promised her that he'd be there when she woke up.

"Auggie?" her voice was thick with sleep.

"I'm here," he replied as he inched closer to her. He found the hand that she'd squeezed his hand with and held it. "Lindsay, I heard what was in your medical file." He said. He could hear a sigh coming from her bed.

"I promise you, this was the first time he really harmed me..." she sounded defensive and he felt sorry for her.

"Hey, you don't have to defend him, but I understand okay. It must be really difficult but I hope that you know now that you can't be with him, not anymore." He said firmly. He knew that he was being direct but he needed her to understand the reality of the situation, the Agency would never approve this man as her partner anymore.

"But I..." she was crying. He squeezed her hand carefully for support. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked.

"You'll start over, it'll be difficult in the beginning, but you'll make it." He reassured her.

"I haven't been alone in 7 years, how am I supposed to just get used to it?" she sounded helpless.

"You have friends around you, the Agency's backing you and there are people you could talk to." He offered the standard reply, but quickly added. "And you also have me."

"God, I must sound so pathetic to you..." she said with a scoff.

"No! Absolutely not. Why would you think that?" he said a little surprised at the turn of this conversation.

"I mean, I'm supposed to be this great Agent...you and Barber even said that I was great at getting out of that situation I was in, when I had to make it to the extraction point.." her voice faded. "So I can get out of pressing, deadly situations, but not out of a relationship, what does that make me?" she finished, exasperation lacing her words.

"Human," he replied. "Lindsay, I can't even imagine what you've been through, but I know that you stayed in that relationship because you had hope and faith, not because you were weak. Alright?"

He didn't get a reply, but she didn't argue either.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked. "Anyone you want to call?"

"No, no I can't." There was desperation in her voice and he tried to calm her down, he didn't want her to get upset. "They still think that I should marry him..." she blurted out.

"What?" he asked incredulous.

"My mom at least, she...she thinks that I should marry him, that I won't get another chance like this, his family, they're rich and she wants him to provide for me so that I can stop working for the CIA..." she was crying really hard now and everything came out in bits and pieces.

_Oh my god, _he thought as he sat there. _What kind of mother does this to her child?_

"She's wrong." He said softly, he rose from his chair and settled down on the bed next to her so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm here," he added.

"Are you always this nice?" Lindsay said after a while. He chuckled.

"No, only on special occasions," he quipped. She laughed softly but he could hear her wince.

"Take it easy," he urged her. Silence fell in the room. "I'm sorry..." he said after a while, he felt that if anyone should say that they were sorry, it should be him.

"What do you mean?" she asked sounding confused.

"Well, I can't really be held accountable for Sunday night, but when you reiterated the whole thing to me Monday morning I should've asked something. SI should've figured out what you meant when you said that you hadn't wanted to go home. Some spy I am..." his voice trailed off.

"Oh, Auggie." She breathed, "please, don't say that. You're a great spy and I didn't really give you a lot of clues. It's absolutely not your fault, I'm just glad that you spent that evening with me, I needed it." She said. He shook his head, _focus, _he thought. _She _wasn't supposed to be supporting _him_.

* * *

A half hour later Lindsay was undergoing a routine check-up by a doctor and Auggie decided to call Joan with an update.

"Hi Joan, it's me." He said when she answered.

"Auggie, did you get any information?"

He told her about what he'd found out in Lindsay's medical file and what Lindsay had told him. He could hear Joan sigh and he knew that she was fighting to be professional about this, emotions easily took over when something like this happened.

"The police still haven't matched him, but they will. Auggie thank you for stepping in today, I'll see you tomorrow." She said and he hung up. He sank down on a bench, still clutching the cell phone in his hand. He thought about life and how fragile it was. His thoughts then automatically went to Annie, _what was he doing? _He knew Annie, she'd never keep things from him just to spite him. And sure he was angry, but not at her, was he? What if he'd lost her now that he'd finally gotten to be with her, now that he'd found the woman he wanted next to him for the rest of his life! As the realization hit hard, he immediately dialed Annie's number.

_The number you have reached is not in service. _

He arched his eyebrows. _That was odd, _he thought. He pressed the button on his watch, _December 6th, 5 P.M. _he wondered if maybe she'd gone out to the movies or something, he made a mental note to try her again later, he needed to apologize for his behavior. He just hoped that he wasn't too late.

* * *

Annie had heard enough and this proved how little she could trust anyone, she shook her head and didn't know what to do with herself. She could feel tears burning, threatening to spill over. She picked up the burner phone and stared at it for a few seconds. She knew that it was risky, but she couldn't stand the loneliness and the feeling of being completely deserted. She stood up and walked out of the house and through the gate, she needed to clear her head.

She didn't know how much time had passed, it was getting darker. She knew that she was putting it all at risk by not walking back. If Bashir suspected that she knew about the file, about his involvement, this assignment was over. But she couldn't return either, she felt trapped. She pressed a button on the burner phone, the display flickered to life. She hesitated at first but then she punched in the numbers hoping that the cell phone service would be adequate enough for this.

"Hello?"

Just hearing his voice got the tears to stream down her face.

"Hi, it's me..." she sobbed.

"Annie?"

"Did you get my email?" she asked.

"I did..." he sounded hesitant as if he wanted to say a lot more, but he didn't. "I'll help you, whatever you need."

"Do you promise?" she asked, her voice weak.

"I'll always help you, Neshama."

* * *

**A/N: **_So Eyal seems willing to help, is that a good thing? And how will things turn out for Lindsay and Auggie? Stay tuned and please _review _and let me know what you think about this chapter!_


	22. Chapter 22 - Other Perspectives

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_This chapter is going to be a little different from the others, you'll see what I mean when you start reading. I hope you'll like it._

I've also gotten a lot of comments from Eyal-fans out there who are worried that I might even kill him off. Okay, while I'm an Auggie-fan, I still really like Eyal and he's a great character, I can't reveal what I have in store for him in my story, mostly because I don't really know yet. For now I hope that I've done Eyal's character justice and captured him just right, _**let me know what you think.**_

* * *

**Chapter 22  
**_Other Perspectives_

He stepped out of the cab and paid the driver before he collected his carry on, that was all he needed. There were plenty of people around Eleftherios V. Airport in Athens, but he quickly made his way towards the departure hall.

He had indeed been onboard _The Flying Lavin _when he'd received Annie's email and as soon as he'd read it a thousand thoughts had invaded his mind._ What the hell was Annie up to? Why was she in contact with an ex Mukhabarat soldier? Why did she need him to get her that information, why couldn't she just run it through the CIA and wasn't her boyfriend or whatever he was a techie? _He'd instantly worried about Annie, whatever she was up to it wasn't good Mukhabarat were tough to deal with. Even though he wasn't officially with Mossad anymore, he still had a few favors to collect, so he'd asked a source to look up information on "Hakim Bashir". He'd then instantly steered the boat to port, since he wanted to get to the airport as quickly as possible.

Now he'd just purchased his ticket to Baghdad with a layover in Doha. The flight to Doha was just four hours, then he'd have to stay a little over nine hours in Doha before the last leg of the journey, a two hour flight to Baghdad. 16 hours give or take wasn't all that bad he reasoned, then he'd be with her, he'd be able to help her out of whatever situation she was in. It surprised him a little that he was so willing and even eager to help this woman, but he knew that he would. He flashed back to the prison break he'd staged in Russia, when he'd been contacted by August Anderson, with the grand plan, he hadn't hesitated at all. But he'd strained his relationship with Annie after having put Mossad ahead of her, he couldn't help but hope that now that she'd reached out to him, he'd get another chance to prove to her where his allegiance lay.

He shrugged, he didn't really want to admit the scope of his feelings for Annie Walker, but he knew that he cared deeply for her and had ever since they first met. But if he had to be honest, he loved her, he'd seen that she was special from the start. He also knew that he wasn't the only one who loved her. He flashed back to the train station in Amsterdam, and their latest goodbye. They'd had their share of departures during the time that they'd known each other, but the last one had been particularly difficult for him. It had dawned on him that the blind man loved her too and that he probably was what Annie had needed then. It had been with a feeling of defeat that he'd left her at that train station in Amsterdam but he'd known that even though he'd wished for her to come with him that what Annie needed after all the things she'd been through, was someone like Auggie. Someone safe. Eyal knew himself well enough to not consider himself safe, he was more of a free spirit and while he'd protect Annie with his life, he needed adventures and back in Amsterdam she hadn't, she'd been too fragile.

As Eyal waited to board his flight he realized just how much he still cared and still loved her. He sighed. He wanted to look at this as a sign that maybe she was single after all, seeing as she'd turned to him and not Auggie. But the Agent inside him knew that even if she was indeed single, her contacting him had nothing to do with it. If Annie couldn't get help from the CIA with a simple search, she was in trouble and it was like she'd said in her email, she wouldn't have asked him for help if she hadn't needed it. So he knew that he couldn't read anything into it. He thought back to the phone call he'd had just an hour earlier with Annie, she'd called him in tears and it had ripped at his heart, all he'd wanted to do in that moment was to hold her. _I'll be there with you soon, Neshama_. He thought as he boarded the plane.

* * *

She'd been in and out of sleep throughout the day so when she opened her eyes and saw that it was dark outside she wasn't sure whether it was in the middle of the night or just evening. She looked around the room, it was empty, she felt an uneasiness settle in. She shook her head and took a deep breath. _Damnit, you're an Agent for Christ sake, you're in a hospital, how much danger could you be in? _She thought to herself. But even if she tried to convince herself that she was being ridiculous, she couldn't shake the uneasiness and to her horror she could feel hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Then she heard a noise, her body went rigid as she watched the door handle being pressed down. A sob slipped out as the door swung open and her heart was beating frantically. She closed her eyes tightly.

"Lindsay?"

She breathed as she recognized Auggie's voice, she opened her eyes again and tried to conceal her sobs, but to no avail.

"Hey..." he said as he hurried to her side. "Are you okay, are you in pain, do you want me to go get a nurse?" he asked worried.

"No, Auggie I'm okay, I'm...I was just a little scared when I woke up alone..." she mumbled staring down at her lap. Even though she knew that he couldn't see her, she felt oddly self-conscious.

"I'm sorry, I was just visiting the bathroom," he explained.

"I'm just stupid..." she said, irritation filled her voice.

"You're not stupid," Auggie said reassuringly, he settled down on the chair next to her bed. "When I got back from Iraq blind, I had a lot of night terrors and I hated being alone. So I understand."

She shot a glance at him. How could she be this lucky? This man had stayed by her side throughout the whole day and he'd shared things with her, private things, to make her feel better. What had she ever done to deserve this?

"Thank you, Auggie...for everything today." She whispered, but the gratitude evident in her voice.

"Of course." He replied. "It's almost dinner time, are you hungry? I can go down to the cafeteria and bring something back."

"That sounds good, I'm a little hungry," she admitted.

She was alone again, but this time it didn't feel weird and she wasn't as panicked. She saw that her cell phone was lying on the bedside table, she reached out for it carefully and saw that she had an unheard message and she knew exactly who it would be from. At first she wasn't sure she should even bother listening to it, but she eventually caved in, she pressed the button and heard the dial tone as she was connected to her voice mail.

_Lindsay! I don't know what the hell happened. I- I'm so sorry baby, I'd never do anything like this ordinarily. You know that, right? Baby, please just help me, you have to sort this situation out, you're in the CIA right, so you can call off the police! You don't want me to end up in jail, do you? Call me when you get this, alright?! I have an image to uphold after all._

She frowned as she hung up the phone. The message was all centered on him, as though all of it had been a mistake. Anger filled her, it hadn't been an accident when he'd started screaming as soon as she'd showed up at home that night after work. It hadn't been an accident that he'd kept her up all night, calling her names and pointing out all the ways that she was disgusting and it hadn't been an accident when he'd pushed her down to the floor, when he'd taken that first swing with his boot clad foot. The tears were running again and she was trembling, but mostly due to the anger. She knew that Auggie had been right, she couldn't go back to him, and he hadn't even asked her how she was or come to see her even though she was the one lying in a hospital bed. All he seemed to care about was his image. _Selfish bastard_, she thought to herself.

* * *

It had been an exhausting day at the Agency, the police had a BOLO out for Paul Marrone; Agent Hanson's partner of seven years, but so far nothing. She managed to unlock the door while balancing a bag of groceries.

"Hello?" she called out even though it was clear that the house was empty, everything was dark. Arthur was spending more and more time at the Agency, both early mornings and late nights. Though she had to admit that he'd been a little more present at home lately, at least just after she'd told him about her relapse. But as she'd feared things had gone back to normal pretty quickly, though she wasn't using again, getting through a day like the one she'd had today wasn't easy.

Joan entered the spacious kitchen area and unloaded the groceries into the fridge and freezer. She glanced at the wall clock, it was almost 8 P.M. and she had no idea when Arthur was planning on coming home and she didn't feel like cooking just to herself, she wandered out into the hallway and picked up the phone at its docking station and ordered herself some Chinese.

After having eaten in front of some reality show on TV that she hadn't paid attention to she cleared away the dishes before she made her way up the stairs. In the bedroom she sank down on the cover. She remembered when she and Arthur had just moved in, they'd been so young. She remembered the promises they'd made to each other then, that no matter how difficult and heated things were going to get at the office, they would always find time for each other. She scoffed, they hadn't been able to keep that promise for very long and now after 12 years they didn't really make efforts to keep it anymore. Things really had been different back then she thought. They'd dreamt of a family, of settling down and maybe even retire early but then Arthur had been promoted to Director of Clandestine Services.

As she sat there in the dark she knew that no matter how much she wanted to blame the Agency for their rocky marriage, she couldn't put all the blame there. _But most of it was related to it_, she thought. She tried to remember when it had started, when had their solid foundation been rocked the first time? _Had it been when Arthur had gotten his promotion? When Arthur had felt the need to prove himself to Henry Wilcox? Or was it when she'd miscarried? Or maybe it was simply connected to them being Agents and that they were doomed to fail?_ She sighed.

She didn't know what time it was when she felt Arthur's familiar touch, she must have fallen asleep. She blinked and there he was, sitting on the side of the bed.

"Hi there," he said softly.

"Hi," she replied.

"I'm sorry for being so late, I would've called but the phones were ringing off the hook." He sounded sad and she actually felt sorry for him, she knew that it wasn't easy for him either.

"It's okay..." she said.

"I heard about Agent Hanson," he said. "I- I'm an idiot, I should've called you as soon as I heard. It must have been difficult for you, how do you feel?" he asked, sincerity in his voice. She felt touched and thought that maybe there was hope for them yet.

"I'm- it was difficult, but I think I managed." She replied tentatively.

"You always do," he said brushing her cheek carefully. "I'm proud of you." He added. They embraced and she could feel some of the tension that had built up during the day, fade away. The memories of her troubled teens, of foster homes and hitting men swept away.

* * *

Normally he loved flying but at the moment all Eyal Lavin could feel was an unsettling feeling. Annie wasn't aware that he was coming, he knew her well enough to know that she would've opposed the idea of him coming to join her, had he asked her. Annie was proud, but mostly she was just concerned and he knew that she wouldn't want to put him in any danger. But for him to stay put in Greece hadn't been an option and secondly he'd started to feel bored anyway and a change of scenery would be nice. Ever since he'd walked out on Rivka and Mossad he'd spent his newfound freedom onboard his boat and while that had been lovely he was a man of action.

He glanced at his watch, still another 30 minutes before they landed in Doha, he was anxious to touch ground seeing as he was waiting on his friend to give him more information about Hakim Bashir. But he supposedly was an ex Mukhabarat, so how innocent could he be? He tried his best not to venture into all the questions he had, he'd just end up feeling frustrated.

As soon as he was permitted to turn on his cell phone he did and as he'd hoped he had an unread email from his source sitting in his Inbox. He opened up the attachment and read through it the best he could while he navigated out of the plane and through the halls of the airport. Suddenly he stopped dead in his track, something had caught his eye halfway through the file. _Damnit Annie_, he thought as he tried to assess the situation, how could this woman get drawn into such dangerous things? He hurried towards the exit, there was a hotel nearby and he decided to check in while waiting on his connecting flight.

He got the key to room number 204. The little room was sparsely decorated, not that he cared. He decided that the rest of the email could wait for just a little while longer, he needed to take a shower. A half hour later he was sitting on the balcony with his cell phone in hand, reading through the rest of the attachment that his source had sent him. His stomach tightened when he read about the things Bashir had done while in the military, not that it was much different from what he'd done throughout his years for Mossad, but just the thought of Annie being in the middle of a situation that involved Bashir made him sick. When he read the part about Bashir being an excellent interrogator he closed down the attachment, he knew enough, Bashir was a dangerous man and most importantly the file had mentioned nothing about him being ex anything.

Eyal wondered where Annie had gotten her information about this man being an ex-agent, had it come directly from Bashir that wouldn't mean all that much _but_ if Annie had gotten faulty Intel from whoever sent her out there, things could be much more complicated. He picked up his phone again and tried Annie's number, no answer. Maybe she couldn't answer due to company, he left her a message.

* * *

**A/N: **_So, what did you think about this format: Seeing things from other characters point of view too? Please _**review**_and let me know._

I also wanted to reply to: **Cherie**, who left me a review last time. Thank you so much for your long and insightful review, it meant a lot to me! I'm glad you like the fact that I've brought in Eyal to this story and I promise you he'll feature in it for a while. I hope you'll like it!


	23. Chapter 23 - Faulty Intel

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So, where were we? Annie found out that Bashir's lying to her. Eyal found out the truth about Bashir and is on his way to Annie. Auggie is realizing the error of his ways...sort of, and is still there for Lindsay. Will Paul Marrone get caught? __**Let me know what you think!**_

* * *

**Chapter 23  
**_Faulty Intel_

Annie had barely slept at all, her spy-sense had been on high alert and every creak in the house had gotten her all tense and seeing as the house was quite old a lot of sounds had been heard throughout the night. As she sat up in bed she went over last night's events, she'd called Eyal and even if their conversation had barely lasted five minutes it had been everything that she'd needed. Then she'd finally returned to the house, concerned about what Bashir had made of her interruption earlier but he hadn't addressed her all night and she'd quickly retreated to her room without any further explanations from Bashir about her file. She shrugged not that it mattered anymore, through her planted bug she'd found out that he'd been lying to her so surely he'd keep telling her lies. She thought about Henry Wilcox, had he been fooled into this too, or was he in on it? She felt frustrated knowing that she was completely alone, without anyone she could trust. She cringed as she realized that maybe this is how Auggie had felt like, only worse, at least she didn't expect much from Bashir but Auggie had relied on her as a friend and girlfriend, to tell him the truth. Of course he was mad. Her thoughts were interrupted by a rap on the door.

"Yes?" she called out. When she didn't get an answer she got dressed and went outside, the hallway was empty but she heard voices coming from the kitchen, she glanced at her watch it was 8 A.M. local time. When she walked past the entrance to the house she saw Malik head out the front door. Maybe he went to school, she thought. When she entered the kitchen Bashir sat by the table drinking something from a cup. Opposite him on the table was another cup which she assumed meant that she was expected to join him. When he still hadn't uttered a word when she'd settled down she carefully lifted the cup to her to her lips, the sweet tea calmed her.

"Your file," he began after her first sip, "is being kept at one of the old headquarters." He finished and this time he looked right at her and she had to admit that he was good as he gave no indication of being nervous or fazed, even though he had just lied straight to her face. He was probably used to it, she thought. Something about his body language suggested that this wasn't a foreign situation to him.

"Oh?" she said, playing along. "How can I get to it?" she asked.

"It'll be very difficult but I will try to guide you through it," he said calmly. He reached for a folded paper on the counter behind him and unfurled it between them. Annie instantly recognized a blue print, probably for the old headquarter building.

He started to tell her his well-hatched plan and as he went on she was surprised at all the detailed description, he'd really planned this down to the last detail. He told her where he'd park his van, what equipment he'd rig her with in order for him to help her navigate the building. He mentioned audio and video feed; building security. Annie was only half listening now, _if you want me inside that building so badly, who do you have waiting for me there? _She thought.

"So you really think I can pull this off?" She asked after he was done.

"Of course, Ms. Walker! Henry has said only nice things about you," he assured her. "Plus, I'll be there to help you."

She just nodded in reply. What was her protocol here? She remembered what Henry had told her in that last email he'd sent before she'd left D.C.. She was to ask Bashir how to get in contact with Henry and keep him updated. But this, what was she even supposed to tell Henry? That Bashir had plans for her that obviously involved her getting caught...or maybe even killed. Would he care? She cringed as she knew that Henry wasn't the one to worry about casualties, but maybe she was of more value to him alive rather than dead. Or was he even in on it? She swallowed.

"Are you alright?" Bashir asked, studying her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said and gave him a half-smile.

"You don't have to worry," he said.

"No, I'm sure you'll help me out and that we can get this file together," she lied, wondering how stupid he thought that she was. He looked content with her answer, so probably a lot. She told him that she thought about going down to the market place, which he seemed to approve he even told her that his wife had a stall down there and that she should go and say hello.

* * *

He didn't particularly like hospitals, in fact he'd come to hate them but he knew that Lindsay needed him there. He shifted in the chair he was sitting in, at least one of the nurses had helped him get a more comfortable chair to sit in, one that he could lean back into and maybe even sleep in and thanks to some paper work, he'd been permitted to stay past the visiting hours.

"Auggie?"

He turned his head in her direction, she was still on heavy pain medication that made her sleepy.

"You're awake," he said. "How do you feel?"

"A little sore, but better...I think," she replied. "What time is it?" her voice a little groggy.

"It's just after midnight."

"Why don't you go home, you can't sleep in that chair." She said matter-of-factly.

"I'm alright, I've slept in more uncomfortable places, situations and positions," he assured her.

"I bet you have, but please, I think it'll do you good and you kinda look like hell," she said with a smirk.

He chuckled, she was joking that was a good sign he thought.

"Why thank you," he said in a mocking tone. "But are you sure? I mean, I'm just fine here and I don't want to leave you alone." He said remembering how he'd found her in tears only hours earlier when she'd woken up alone.

"I'm okay, I'm a big girl," she said and he was just about to argue with her that it wasn't about that when she said. "Auggie...even though it's difficult, I think it's what I need, after all I have to get used to being alone now."

He nodded, he knew that she was being smart and decided that he'd respect her wishes, after all the thought of going to sleep in his own bed was truly inviting.

"Well, if you're sure," he begun as he slowly rose out of his chair. "But hey, call me if you need anything at all."

"I will, thank you so much Auggie."

When he was sitting in one of the service cars he remembered that he'd tried to reach Annie earlier but without luck, he missed her and the thought of being alone tonight - even if he was tired - didn't sit well with him. Sure he was still angry, but he knew that it wasn't Annie's fault, if he had to be angry at someone it was Henry Wilcox and Arthur...and maybe even Joan. But Annie was the one who was fighting for him and she'd always been in his corner. He had to apologize. He knew that it was late but firstly Annie wouldn't mind and secondly when she didn't have to go to work she liked watching movies in the dark so there was a good chance that she'd still be up. He picked up his cell phone and hit speed dial.

_The number you have reached is not in service. _

An uneasy feeling swept through him, Annie usually never turned off her phone for long periods of time. _What was she up to_? Maybe she'd done it to avoid him, but his gut told him that it was something else. Even though his spy-sense alerted him to investigate he felt too tired, it was almost 1 A.M. and he'd been up since before 5 A.M., he just wanted to sleep. He'd be of more use to Annie if he'd just get a few hours of sleep, he reasoned.

* * *

Annie reached the market place at 10 A.M., even though it was early a lot of women were around doing their daily shopping. She smiled when she saw Nabila, Bashir's wife, she seemed so different out here outside of the confines of the house. She was laughing with the other women. Annie carefully approached her, scared that maybe they'd quiet down and feel uncomfortable in her presence. But when Nabila saw her she smiled brightly and waved her forward, when she reached the stall Nabila pressed a little cup in her hand with soup. She did everything in silence and Annie assumed that she didn't know English and while she wanted to say "thank you" in Arabic to the woman, she didn't dare to expose herself in that way.

After a few minutes she parted from the women around her and walked down to the Internet café in hopes of some information from Eyal. The same woman who had helped her the other day was there today too, she smiled but the woman just kept quiet handing her the access card to the computer. She sat down at the one furthest away from the entry, she felt anticipation as she waited for her email client to log her in. But her heart sank as she saw that there was no email from Eyal. She logged off with a sigh and walked back outside. She felt lost, what was she supposed to do now? She didn't feel comfortable at the house and she didn't know what else she could do, she aimlessly started walking in one direction. She glanced at her watch and calculated that it was 2:15 A.M. in D.C., she hoped that everything was well at the Agency and that Auggie was okay, she missed him a lot. She picked up her cell phone and was surprised to see that she had a missed call and a voice mail. When she saw that it was Eyal's number her heart raced, maybe he'd found something. She was just about to call him back when she realized that she'd gotten the cell phone from Bashir and considering his lies, what if he'd bugged it? Her heart raced as she turned the phone over to examine it, she opened the case but couldn't find anything. She thought back to her last conversation with Eyal, but she hadn't exposed herself in anyway, even if Bashir had heard it wouldn't help him. She stared at the phone in her had, she couldn't be too safe. She chucked the phone in the closest bin that she could fine. She wondered what Eyal had wanted, maybe she could find herself a new phone? With a brisk pace Annie walked towards the city center.

A half hour later she'd managed to find a man who sold cell phones and computer parts on the side of the street. She hadn't cared about the fact that the price he'd asked her for was well beyond what that phone was worth, she'd just paid him and walked away. She knew that it was risky and the Agent-side of her kept track of everyone around her, making sure that she wasn't being followed. It seemed clear. She glanced at her watch, 11.06 A.M. which meant that it was 10.06 A.M. in Greece, surely Eyal would be up by now she thought as she punched in the numbers.

"Hello?" the sound of his familiar voice made her smile. She felt safe even though he was miles away and she was standing in an empty alley.

"Hi, it's me," she said affection in her voice.

"Annie? I'm so glad you called." His voice sounded rushed, or eager, like he really needed to tell her something. She could feel her pulse quickening as she wondered what he had for her. "Did you get my message?"

"No..Um, it's a long story, I didn't." She explained, feeling bad that again she was lying to a person that meant a lot to her.

"You can't trust Bashir," Eyal blurted out and before she had a chance to tell him that she already knew that Eyal begun telling her about Bashir's past.

"It's okay Eyal, I know that he's lying to me- " she managed to say as commotion on the other end of the line seemed to distract Eyal momentarily, causing him to stop his narrative.

"Annie, it's worse than that." Eyal cut her off, his voice stern. She knew that something wasn't right. "While the Mukhabarat were dissolved in May 2003, a lot of those who worked with them continued to be active, not officially though but there's a known organization that hosts these ex-Mukhabarat, people who felt betrayed when Saddam's military and security services were disbanded. Annie, Bashir is active in that organization. Who the hell sent you out there?"

Annie felt dizzy, how could that be? Henry had specifically told her that he was ex-Mukhabarat, that he wasn't active. Even if, for some reason, Henry had bought this man's lie if Eyal had been able to find out this quickly that Bashir was still active in some known organization, Henry could too. Had he sent her out here to be killed? Why had he given her faulty intel? She could barely breathe.

"Annie?" Eyal asked, worry evident in his voice. "Annie, I'm on my way, okay? I'll help you. I'm in Doha now, but my flight leaves soon. I'll be in Baghdad at 3 P.M. local time. We'll meet up, okay?"

_What?_

Annie felt disoriented, had she heard him right? Was he in Doha? Was he on his way to help her? She could feel tears prickling the insides of her eyelids. She was touched.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anything for you Neshama," he said, his voice tender. "We'll figure it out together. I'll call you when I land. Is your phone safe?" The last part was said with worry.

"Yeah, it's safe, I ditched the other one," she mumbled, still trying to get her bearings.

"I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon," she replied.

* * *

Auggie groaned as the sound of his cell phone pierced his dream, he couldn't remember what it had been about, but he desperately wanted to return. He clicked on his watch, it was 6 A.M. so he'd only gotten about four hours of sleep. He fumbled around the nightstand, grabbed his phone and answered it.

"Anderson," he mumbled trying to wake up.

"Hi Auggie, I'm sorry to wake you." Joan said, the authority in her voice enough to make him alert.

"No, what is it?" he asked.

"We need to talk, I'm going to pay Lindsay a visit later on so if I could stop by your place?" she asked.

He was surprised at her request, usually Joan wasn't much for house calls. He felt his heart race, maybe she'd found out about him and Annie somehow...but maybe that wouldn't matter seeing as he didn't even know if they were still together.

"Sure," he said. At least it'd give him some time to get dressed and have a cup of coffee before she arrived.

Forty minutes later Joan was entering his apartment, he realized that he was a little nervous, sure Joan had been in his apartment before but it still felt quite intimate and intimidating to have your boss in your apartment.

"Do you want some coffee?" he offered as he followed her towards the couch.

"No, I'm fine, thanks Auggie." She said. He could hear her settle down. "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here," Joan started. He nodded in her direction.

"Did Lindsay mention something about Paul, her partner the other night?"

Oh, he relaxed as he realized that he and Annie weren't the topic for the day.

"No, nothing really except that this was the first time he'd hurt her this bad..." he frowned as he said it.

She nodded.

"How did she seem?"

"Scared, not so much of him but of being alone I think." He replied. Joan was quiet for a while and he wondered what she was thinking. "Why?" he added.

"He called her last night. I heard from the uni's that they were monitoring her incoming calls, but they only found a payphone but no sign of him in the neighborhood. They've been out all morning with flyers, asking around..." Joan sounded tired.

Auggie was clutching the arm rest, _he'd called her? _Anger was coursing through his body.

"She didn't mention it?" She asked.

"No," he said through gritted teeth.

"I called the hospital this morning, she seemed fine and a police man is on his way over there now to cover her entrance in case he tries to go there." Joan sighed. "I wish we could investigate this ourselves, but there's a conflict of interest.

"I wish so too," he replied. Wondering why Paul Marrone had called the girlfriend he'd beaten to a pulp. "I want to come with you," he said.

"Sure, let's get going," Joan said as she rose from the couch.

Together they arrived at the hospital but when they stepped onto the floor they kept Lindsay on they were met by chaos. Joan grabbed the upper part of his arm and they quickly navigated through the mass.

"What happened?" Joan demanded when they'd stopped.

"She's gone..." a nurse replied.

* * *

**A/N: **_I'm sorry for the late update, it's just that I'm currently writing on my exam and I've also been sick. Bad timing. But I thought this would be a great "Friday celebration (we all love Friday's, huh?)-thingy". I wanted to say thank you to all of you out there, Happy Valentine's Day (even though it's a little late now...but still). Please _review _and let me know what you thought about today's chapter._


	24. Chapter 24 - Getting Closer

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_So how will it turn out, will Eyal be able to help Annie? Will they in fact be stronger together? Will they be able to do what they came there to do, with only a few days until Annie has to go back? What happened to Lindsay? And is Auggie getting closer?_

* * *

**Chapter 24**  
_Getting Closer_

Annie held onto her cup of coffee, she was sitting at the café inside AlMashbah Plaza Hotel, which was located nearby Al-Rasheed Airport. She glanced at her watch, Eyal should've already landed and hopefully he'd gotten her message about her suggested meeting place. Her heart was beating furiously; she was both excited and nervous. Nervous because she didn't know if Bashir was keeping tabs on her, she'd purchased a shawl and a pair of sunglasses at the city center, hoping to blend in more efficiently. She was also excited to see Eyal again, their last encounter had been in Amsterdam, where she'd come to his aid against Khalid. She couldn't help but smile as she wondered if he'd ever settled down on his boat in Greece, somehow she was having trouble picturing the former Mossad agent peacefully settling down. Her phone buzzed on the table, she quickly grabbed it, a new message.

**Eyal L.  
**3.15 P.M.  
_I'm on my way, see you soon._

She smiled to herself as she read the short sentence over and over again. It was December 7th she thought and she only had two full days before she had to leave, she just hoped that it would be enough. Not that she couldn't re-book her flight to stay another couple of days, but she knew that Joan would sooner or later expect her to come back or at least be heard from. Her thoughts drifted off to Henry, what was she supposed to make of all this? He'd sent her here so that she could retrieve a file that ultimately showed that Arthur and Joan had sent Auggie to Iraq under false pretenses and with faulty intel. It didn't make much sense, any of it and now, seeing as she was in Baghdad living with a man who lied to her about said file, it seemed as though Henry was the one giving out the faulty intel. _What if it was all bogus? An elaborate ploy to get to her? But why?_ Her mind was reeling. _If Henry wasn't out to destroy Arthur and Joan or give Auggie justice, was he out to destroy her? _She remembered how upset Joan and Arthur had been at Jai's star ceremony, Auggie had explained to her that the declassification of an agent usually was a lengthy process and considering that Henry had made it happen so fast, suggested that he was still able to pull strings within the Agency. _Was Henry pulling strings now too?_

She didn't know why, but something made her look towards the entrance just as he walked in. She smiled brightly as their eyes met across the room. Seeing him, a friend, in this foreign place made her calm in a way that she hadn't felt in days. _Everything will be alright, _she thought and for the first time since Henry had approached her, she actually believed it would be. He quickly made his way through the café and then they were embracing each other.

"I've missed you," she murmured into his chest.

"And I you, Neshama." He whispered back.

When they finally parted he turned to one of the waiters and ordered himself a coffee. She took him in, he looked amazing. He actually looked more relaxed and tanned, freedom suited him, she thought.

"What?" he said, as he turned around catching her stare at him.

"You look good Eyal," she said honestly.

"Sea-life will do that to you," he said with a smirk, "you should try it sometime."

"You actually lived on your boat all this time?" she asked in disbelief as he settled down on a chair next to hers.

"What, you don't think that I'm capable going on a vacation?" he said grinning at her.

"Not really," she said with a chuckle.

"What about you? Evidently a lot happened since we parted ways in Amsterdam," his tone was more serious.

"Um, it's a long story..." she started, unsure what to share with him. She sighed, she was tired of lying all the time, but maybe she'd put Eyal in danger if she told him everything.

"Annie, I've got nothing but time." He assured her.

* * *

"What did they say?" Auggie demanded, as he heard Joan's familiar step approaching him.

"When Officer Cruz got here, he went in to check on Lindsay and introduce himself. But apparently she was gone. Her cell phone's still here, so they can't track her through that. They're going to check the surveillance footage at the entrance of the hospital, hopefully that'll give us an idea of what happened." Joan replied.

"Do you think Paul came here?" He asked.

"I don't know, seems foolish...but maybe." Joan said with a sigh.

"What do we do now?"

"Auggie, there's nothing we can do here. We'll just have to rely on the Police to do their work. I'm heading back to the office, do you want a ride?"

"How can you be so calm?!" He blurted out, a little harsher than he'd intended and he immediately regretted his outburst. He could feel her grip on his upper arm, guiding them away from all the voices.

"I'm not calm, agent Hanson is my agent and of course I want that bastard captured, but it's out of my hands Auggie and the best anyone of us can do is sit tight and help the Police in any way we can. And while I'd love to sit around, I have other things to take care of too!" Her voice was stern and he knew that he'd overstepped.

"I'm sorry..." he said.

"I understand that you're frustrated Auggie, let's go." She said and they both walked towards the elevators.

...

"Is it true?" Barber demanded - disbelief hanging from every word - as Auggie stepped into the Tech-Op area.

"Yeah, unfortunately..." he said. He could hear Barber sinking down in his chair with a thud. "Are you okay?" he asked. Barber mumbled something incoherently.

Auggie sat down behind his desk and booted up his computer, it'd been a while since he'd been here. It felt so weird; so much had changed in these last few days. Lindsay had been beaten and now she was gone and Annie and he were on thin ice...that reminded him that he'd promised himself to check on her. He listened. Barber seemed to be back typing away at his keyboard; usually he wore his headphones which were pretty much sound proof.

"Barber?" he tried, but as he'd assumed he didn't get an answer. He reached for the phone on the desk and dialed the number to Annie's cell phone.

_The number you've reached is not in service._

He furrowed his brows, something felt wrong. Annie wouldn't turn off her phone for this long, not even to avoid him, if she'd wanted that she'd simply screen his calls. After some thought, he remembered Annie's home number, he punched in the right buttons, the dial tone came but after 10 he realized that she wasn't going to answer. Of course that could've been screening on her part. Maybe her cell phone was dead? He knew that Annie wasn't the most technical person when it came to phones and such and to get a new one she'd have to come in to Langley, which was unlikely if she was indeed avoiding him. But it didn't sit right with him, any of it. _Maybe_...he glanced at his watch, it was still early, but he didn't think that anyone would miss him if he stepped out for an hour or so.

A half hour later he stood in front of Annie's house.

"Walker?" he called out. But no reply came, the only sound were of chirping birds.

He walked up to her door and found the bell, but no answer this time either. He tried the door, but it was locked. It was then that he realized that Annie wasn't home. _Where was she? _Maybe she'd decided to fly out to California to meet up with Danielle and her nieces, it was plausible he thought. He knew that Annie and her sister were close, so if Annie hit a snag - or in their case a boulder - in her relationship, she'd surely seek her older sister's company. He knew that he'd told Annie that he needed space and he knew Annie well enough to know that she'd respect that, so it wouldn't be weird if she'd left without letting him know. He thought about calling Danielle, but something stopped him. It felt too easy, or wrong...he didn't want to risk calling Danielle to find out that Annie wasn't there, that'd just cause a lot of worry. Terror swept through him as he recalled what Annie had told him about Henry Wilcox, he'd made her to an unsanctioned dead-drop, _what if she was out doing something for him?_

* * *

She was sitting in Eyal's room, he'd checked into the hotel and now here they were. The room was quite big and she was settled down at the end of the bed.

"So are you going to tell me anything?" Eyal asked, his voice calm.

She'd looked down at her feet and as she turned her gaze upward she saw him standing there shirtless, he was rummaging through his luggage to find another shirt. She smiled at him. After a few seconds he'd pulled the armchair to stand in front of her and then he settled down. He was waiting for her to tell her what was going on, she felt worried and took a quick glance around the room.

"It's a long story..." she began. But he didn't say anything so she continued. "After we parted in Amsterdam I flew straight home and I attended Jai Wilcox's star ceremony."

"Henry Wilcox's son?" Eyal asked.

"Yes, exactly. And when I got back to the DPD I found a note on my desk. It was a note that -" She stopped and scoffed. "Sorry, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. First of all..." her voice trailed off as she was unsure how to approach all of this, seeing as she was already on an unsanctioned Op, she shouldn't be as concerned with following protocol on this and she trusted Eyal but it was still difficult. She rubbed at her temples as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"Hey," he said and their eyes met. "You know that you can trust me, right? I'm done with Mossad. I- I'm here to help _you._" He put emphasis on the "you" part. She smiled, he knew exactly what to say.

"Well, earlier this year," she continued. "Jai asked me to meet him at this café, Vesta. He said that he had information for me, he wanted to discuss something...then, it all happened so fast. He wanted me to follow him somewhere and he walked ahead to the car and I forgot my umbrella so I returned back to our boot and- and then...the car exploded a-an-and...Jai died." Annie's voice was trembling and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Eyal inched closer to her and carefully brushed away the tears with his thumb.

"It's okay," he whispered.

"Anyway, that note that was on my desk after the star ceremony, it said to come to Vesta that night. Alone." She could see Eyal cringe, the same way that Auggie had when she'd told him. "Anyway, I was tired from the flight and all I wanted was to go home, but I thought that I'd better just get it over with. So I went and there was Henry Wilcox."

"So, let me get this straight you met with Henry Wilcox? I thought that everyone hated him."

"Well, most of us do...and I did, or do...but um, I didn't know that it was his note and when I got there, I was curious enough to stay."

"So what did he want?" Eyal asked caution in his voice.

"He gave me a file...a file that suggests that Auggie was sent to Iraq with faulty intel, and that's why he was in that accident, the accident that made him blind..."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Eyal said somewhat dryly.

"Yeah, well it also implicates Arthur and Joan..." she added.

"You mean they knew and sent him anyway?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes. But the file that the CIA has is all redacted, I mean I can't see any signatures and that's why I'm here. I need to get to the original file and take it back with me."

He was quiet as he seemed to assess the situation. She knew that this was selfish, she hadn't told Eyal in that email that she was here in Iraq for Auggie's benefit, and maybe he wouldn't have helped her had he known. She shook her head, of course he would've, she knew that Eyal respected Auggie and especially after their working together to get her out of Russia. But she also knew that it was a touchy subject.

"So how does Bashir fit into all of this?" Eyal asked.

Annie took a deep breath and told him everything that she knew. When she was done Eyal ran a hand through his hair and leaned back into the chair. He sighed.

"You really know how to find trouble, Annie..." he said and she couldn't be sure if it was anger or irritation that laced his words. She shrugged it away, he had every right to be upset with her. "How can I help?" he added then, she felt relief course through her. _Thank god, _she thought.

"Thank you Eyal, I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"Don't thank me yet," he said seriously. "So when does this all go down?"

"Tomorrow, I think...I'll get back to you. But...um, I think I better go, Bashir's expecting me for dinner." She said a little embarrassed. He just nodded and walked her to the door, he gave her a quick hug before he closed the door behind her. As she walked out of the hotel she felt stupid and she was angry with herself, Eyal had come all this way for her and she was only thinking about herself...and Auggie. She sighed, _she'd make it up to him later_, she thought as she settled into a cab.

* * *

Auggie entered the Tech-Op area deep in thought, _where was Annie? _Even if Henry had her do something, what would that even be? He couldn't really put it together, Annie was still healing so she was limited, wasn't she?

"Where have you been?" Barber asked.

"Um, just out...why?" He asked.

"Joan wanted to talk to you."

He nodded, thanked Barber and turned around to head for Joan's office. He knocked.

"Come in," he could hear her call out.

When he entered the office he knew that someone else was in the room with them, he could smell it.

"Auggie, this is Officer Lopez."

"Hi," he turned towards the new scent.

"Hello," the man replied.

"Any progress?" He asked

"They've checked the security footage and it shows Lindsay walking out of the hospital earlier this morning." Joan said. "We think that she might have gone to meet with him, that he's pressuring her somehow. According to her phone records she received yet another phone call, from another payphone, this time in the city...unfortunately no sight of him anywhere yet."

His heart sank, it didn't sound good and he wasn't new to this scenario either. He'd heard enough stories about men who hit their women and the control the ultimately had over those women. He felt sick.

"So what can we do?" He asked.

"Did she tell you anything, when you talked, anything about a meeting place?" Officer Lopez asked.

"No, nothing..." he said, wishing that he could be of more help.

"Alright, well that's it for now. I just wanted to let you guys know." Lopez announced.

"Well, thank you, we appreciate it." Joan said and then handshakes were made around the room before the Officer walked out. There was a moment of silence before Joan spoke.

"This isn't good..." it was almost a whisper and he was a little surprised at the emotion in her voice.

"I know. But I- I don't understand why she'd even go to him."

"Auggie, something like that, it's hard to-"

"No, I know, it's not that." He interrupted. "I'm just saying that she seemed good, determined to fight back."

He sank down on the couch and there was silence yet again. This wasn't any normal situation, they both knew it, this woman was an agent and if she was - as he thought - in her right mind, she'd be able to protect herself...

"Um, Joan?" He cleared his throat. "What if she didn't go _to _him, what if she went _after _him?"

* * *

**A/N: **_So what do you think? Will Annie and Eyal have enough time to execute their operation? What's Lindsay up to and how will Auggie figure into the whole scenario? Please _review _and let me know what you thought about this episode!_


	25. Chapter 25 - The Unsanctioned Op - Pt 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_I'm sorry for not having updated earlier, but I've been crazy busy and inspiration have been lacking. Anyway, here's an update. If you need to refresh what happened, please read previous chapters. But a short summary is that Lindsay's gone and no one knows where and Eyal is in Iraq to help Annie out. Eyal and Annie are now embarking upon The mission. So here goes!_

* * *

**Chapter 25  
**_The Unsanctioned Op Pt. 1_

Annie was nervous, today was the day. She knew that this wasn't the normal Op and even if Eyal would try and help out, there were still crucial parts that she had to do to mention that there was a lot of room for error. She listened intently, the house was quiet. She glanced at her watch, it was almost 5 A.M. and in a few minutes she knew that Nabila would wake up, go into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Then at 5.30 Malik usually joined her in the kitchen where they'd eat in silence. After breakfast Malik would do some of his homework while Nabila did some housework, and around seven Bashir would enter the kitchen, where he'd find his breakfast already laid out for him. Whenever Bashir turned up in the kitchen Nabila would leave the house, she probably went down to the market place to set up and at eight Malik usually left too. Bashir usually stayed at the house during the day, spending most of his time behind closed doors in his study.

When she'd arrived at the house last night for dinner, it had been quite pleasant and she'd understood that if Bashir was in a good mood, so was the rest of the family. After dinner Bashir had asked her to stay in the kitchen, Nabila had served them sweet tea and then left them. Annie had been on pins and needles waiting for Bashir to guide her through his elaborate plan at the old headquarters. She'd retreated to her room around 10 P.M. and immediately texted Eyal. Their text-based conversation had gone on for an hour, seeing as it was difficult to hatch a plan without speaking to each other about it. At the end she'd promised to try and meet up with him again the next day at the hotel.

She got dressed slowly, she was nervous but she knew that she to go through with this, this was her chance to get answers. A few minutes later she walked out of her room, carefully making her way down the corridor towards the front door. She figured that if Bashir asked her where she was heading, she'd tell him that she was nervous and needed to clear her head. But she didn't see him, the house was quiet, they were probably still sleeping. Bashir had told her that they'd head out after dinner, so she had time she thought as she started her walk towards the city center to find herself a cab.

An hour later, she knocked on Eyal's door.

"Good morning." He said with a smile as he stepped aside to let her inside. He was wearing a white robe and judging by his hair he'd just taken a shower. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he watched her settle down on the edge of the bed.

"I don't know." She admitted. "But I know what I have to do," she added sternly. He walked towards the armchair where his jeans were slung over the armrest. He picked them up and went into the bathroom, after a few minutes she began feeling restless and decided to stand up. Looking up she caught a glimpse of Eyal in his worn out jeans and bare upper body. She felt herself blush and immediately turned around and walked over to the window, it was sunny day, barely any clouds.

"You won't be alone," he said in a hush voice. She could feel his breath on her neck. At first she thought of shifting her body to the left so that he wouldn't be so close to her, but on second thought she wanted him close, she felt scared.

"I will be at first," she stated, with her back still turned against him.

"I know." He said, he laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "But I checked, the car ride from Bashir's house to the headquarters doesn't take more than 15, 20 minutes tops. So I'll be there with you shortly and you said that he wanted you wired, right? So you might be able to stall a little and before you know it, I'll be by your side Neshama."

"Yes, he wants me wired just to make it look genuine, like he's actually on my side." She scoffed.

"We can use that to our advantage." He said, inching closer to her body. Both his hands were now resting on her shoulders. She turned around and looked into his dark, brown eyes. "It'll be okay, come here." He said and before she knew it she was in his arms.

A few minutes later they parted and they sat down at the little table in the corner of the room.

"Okay, let's go over it again," Eyal said. She nodded.

"You said that dinner was at 7 P.M., right?"

"Yes, we'll be done by eight." She replied.

"Okay. First off, you will spend the day with me and at 6 P.M. you'll take a cab from here so that you'll make that dinner. You'll take the cab to the city center and from there you'll walk to Bashir's house. I will-". He stopped for a second as he rose to his feet to grab a bag, he rummaged through it and found what he was looking for. "I will catch up with you through this, here," he said handing her a plastic card and on it was something that looked like a sticker, but she knew exactly what it was. "Put the tracking device on the inside of your phone or somewhere inconspicuous, so I'll be able to see where you're heading. I've rented a car, which is parked out front. I will leave in my car just a few minutes after your cab, I'll see to it that you reach the city center without any problems and then I'll give you a head start before I park the car where you suggested."

"Good," she said. "So you'll park the car and then keep in the vicinity of Bashir's house and when you see us leave in the van you'll scout his office for the file?" She double checked.

"Exactly. You said that the wife usually does some housework after dinner?"

"Yes, but she's mostly in the kitchen which isn't visible from the study. Also she keeps her distance from the study, I don't think that she's allowed near it." Annie clarified.

"So I'll go in through the back door, from the patio and make my way to the study?"

"Yes." She picked up a crumpled piece of paper from her jeans and handed it to him, it was a sketch of the layout of the house.

"What about the son?" He asked.

"Malik is usually in his room or in the kitchen doing his homework, I don't think that he'll be a problem." She explained.

"Good. As soon as I find the file, I'll take the car to the headquarters to help you. And yes, unfortunately you'll have to fend for yourself for a while, but I'll do my best to get there quickly..." his voice trailed off, he was trying to conceal his worry, she could tell. She appreciated that he cared about her.

"Yeah, I just hope there won't be a bomb in there or something that he sets off the second I enter the building," she said airing her darkest thoughts about this mission.

He frowned. "Annie, you can't think like that."

"I know," she scoffed.

"Do you remember the headquarters blueprint?" he asked, changing the topic. "Is there a way in that he won't be able to see from the van?"

"Yes, there's two entrances, the southern won't be visible from the van...but Eyal," she stopped unsure what to say.

"Annie, it's okay." He said reassuringly as he found her hand. "Do you think he'll have more men stationed outside?"

"I don't think so, he told me that it would be pretty deserted but that it's still a very sensitive mission, getting inside. But seeing as he, or Henry, wants me inside that building so badly he surely have men in there." She detected a wince crossing his features, but he kept his cool.

"I'll be quick at the house, it shouldn't be that hard I know enough Arabic to find the right file. I'll be there by your side and we'll get through it together." He said softly, their eyes met and he carefully traced the outer edge of her jawbone with his middle and index finger. She shivered.

"Do you have a weapon?" He then asked, catching her off guard.

"No," she managed.

"I figured," he said and again turned to the bag, after a few seconds he handed her a gun. She felt nervous as she took it in her hands. She wished that she could fast-forward this whole day.

"You know how to handle it?" He asked.

Annie knew that he was just double-checking, knowing that she was feeling insecure.

"Yes, it's a Walther PPK -.380 ACP. 9mm, six rounds." She replied.

He nodded.

She felt queasy as she remembered when she'd handled a gun just like this one before. Her first kill in Stockholm flashed before her eyes. She turned her gaze towards Eyal who was handling a Walther P99 -. 9mmx19, 15 rounds. It all felt surreal.

"How did you even manage?" she asked nodding towards the gun in his hand.

"Some things are better left unknown Neshama." He said with a smirk. "So what do you want to do now?" He asked in a voice that didn't reveal any worry or suggest that they were about to do something very dangerous in a few hours. She couldn't help but smile.

* * *

It was 2 A.M. and he was still wide awake. Joan had alerted the police about his theory about Lindsay going after Paul herself. He felt restless as he paced around his living room. He didn't know much about Lindsay, but something told him that she hadn't been forced to follow Paul, if she was missing it was due to her own will. But what if he was wrong? He ran a hand through his tousled hair, he was tired but his mind was reeling. After a few minutes he sank down on the couch and his thoughts drifted to Annie, he wondered where she was and he made a mental note to try and contact Henry Wilcox; maybe he knew something. He shook his head, he was still cautious about reaching out to Henry since he didn't know how he'd react to the fact that Annie had read him in - which would become obvious if he started to poke around - and he didn't want Henry to take his anger out on Annie. He sighed. _When did my life become so complicated? _He thought.

It was late he knew that, but for some reason he found his cell phone and dialed a number that he'd dialed a lot of times before.

"Auggie?" The voice on the other end sounded worried.

"I'm sorry, I know that it's late."

"It's okay, hold on." The voice was now only a whisper. It'd be 1 A.M. there, he thought, so he was probably just making sure that he wouldn't wake up Carly. "Hi, what's up?" Adam's voice sounded more awake now.

"Did I wake you?" He asked.

"Nah, I'd just fallen asleep I think. But don't worry. I'm glad to hear from you."

"Thanks." Just hearing his older brother's voice calmed him. "It's just...there's a lot going on and I don't know what to do, I feel so helpless."

"Do you want to talk about it, or just talk?" He asked gently.

He thought for a second, could he tell his brother anything of value? He quickly decided that Lindsay had to be off-limits for now, it was too sensitive and he had to follow protocol but the file...sure, it had to do with the CIA, but seeing as the file hadn't gotten to him through the proper channels, was it still protected by CIA protocol? He sighed.

"Hey, Auggie! It's okay." Adam said. "I know that there are things you can't talk about."

"I can tell you some things," he decided. "It seems as though my going blind wasn't really an accident." He blurted out, not bothering to sugar-coat it.

"What?! What do you mean?" He could hear that his brother was upset.

"It seems as though they sent me out there with faulty intel, maybe my boss even knew about it." He scoffed.

"So what you were set up?" The voice that returned was the voice of a lawyer and Auggie immediately felt cautious.

"No, well maybe, I don't know." He rushed. "It's complicated Adam, and even I don't know the whole story." His brother remained quiet and he knew that his brother was resisting the urge to give him a lot of legal advice.

"I'm...I'm sorry Auggie," he said sincerely.

"Thank you," he replied.

"God, that sucks and..." his voice trailed off. "Well, have you told Annie?"

Upon hearing her name, his heart constricted and he revealed to his brother how she'd told him about the file and ended his narrative with how he'd treated Annie that time, the last time he'd seen her.

"She'll understand," Adam said. "Of course you were upset."

"Yeah, I know and that's not it. Annie's probably beating herself up about it, probably thinking that she isn't good enough for me anymore, that she's betrayed me..." his voice trailed off as he now realized the pain he'd put her through.

"Just talk to her, I can tell that you still love her."

"I do."

They kept talking for a little while longer, Auggie asked about his niece and nephew and his sister-in-law. They even shared a few laughs before they hung up. When Auggie was back in bed it was already 3 A.M. but luckily he fell asleep quickly.

* * *

**A/N: **_Seeing as my inspiration have been on the down low for a while, I'd really appreciate your comments on this! Do you want me to keep writing, are you guys still reading my Fic? Are you still enjoying it? Please _**review** _and let me know!_


	26. Chapter 26 - The Unsanctioned Op - Pt 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Thank you for being so supportive, I'm so glad to hear that some of you really want me to continue with this story! It means a lot. Please, continue commenting, it helps speeding the writing along. I also promised you some _**action, **_so here goes!_

* * *

**Chapter 26  
**_The Unsanctioned Op - Pt. 2_

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he reflected on the last couple of days, things had changed so quickly. He tried to focus his attention back to the screen and the task at hand, but it proved more difficult than it should. Due to the unforeseen incident concerning Lindsay he hadn't been very focused on work lately, which meant that he was lagging behind. This was why he was sitting at his desk on an early Saturday morning. It was calmer than usual, with not that many around, not that the DPD ever was deserted or particularly calm. He put on his earphones again and continued with his work, he had a deadline on Monday so he knew that he'd practically live at the DPD throughout the weekend.

As the minutes rolled by he realized that it felt weird to be at work and turn his attention to ordinary things - not that his work or tasks were ordinary - but knowing that Lindsay was somewhere out there in god knows what state, he couldn't help but worry even though he didn't want to admit exactly how emotionally attached he'd become over the last couple of days. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a faint noise; someone had opened the sliding doors. He pulled off the earphones and turned his chair towards the entrance, the perfume was unmistakable.

"Hi Joan, any news?" he queried.

"I'm afraid not Auggie, but I need you to help me out with another thing." He picked up on the authority in her voice and he knew that whatever it was, it was something important.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Douglas Barnes finally talked," she said.

He arched his eyebrows. Douglas Barnes was the man that had kidnapped Annie on her first mission after they'd kissed. He clenched his jaw, where they finally going to get to Fournier, the arms dealer that Annie had tried to get intel on?

"It seems as if he thinks that Fournier's hiding out in Prague, we've been in contact with _Bezpečnostní informační služba (BIS)_ and there's chatter that he is indeed there. I'm sending agent Kelting back out into the field, seeing as Annie can't help us at the moment and he's read in and he left earlier this morning from Dulles. I need you to be his handler and help him out on this mission, whatever he needs. It shouldn't be too dramatic. Here," He could hear her put a file down at his desk.

He quickly scanned the first page with his index finger, he nodded.

"Sure, I'm going to be here throughout the weekend anyway, so sounds good." He said unenthusiastically.

"Thank you Auggie, I know it's difficult to transition back into work, but I really need you on this, we have to pursue it."

"I know," he replied. He heard Joan turn her heel but she stopped in the doorway.

"Have you heard anything from Annie by the way?" she asked.

"Um, no actually I haven't..." he said, his voice trailing off at the end. The question had caught him off guard and he hoped that Joan wouldn't be suspicious of his reaction. He could hear that she was still there, but she didn't say anything, it made him a little uncomfortable.

"I'm here if you wanna talk," she said breaking the silence.

"Thanks," he said. He'd picked up the file again and pretended to be engrossed in it. When he was sure that Joan was gone, he put the file back down and leaned back into his chair. He hadn't heard anything from Annie in quite a while and it wasn't like her to stay out of touch like this. But then this situation was pretty unique, they'd never fought like this before. He thought about calling her again, but decided against it, he had a lot to do at the moment. He'd try again tonight instead he promised himself.

Bezpečnostní informační služba (BIS) was the national intelligence agency of the Czech Republic, he'd been in contact with them once before, when he'd just been transferred to the DPD and that mission had ended well, he just hoped that this one would too. I could use a win right about now, he thought to himself. He picked up the file and started reading it properly.

* * *

Annie's heart was beating rapidly; she was walking towards Bashir's house. It was 6.30 P.M. and dinner was about to be served. She'd spent the day with Eyal and thanks to him she'd momentarily forgotten the harsh reality that she now had to face. They'd enjoyed each other's company and Eyal had told her all about Greece; his trips to the small islands, the boat and countless other stories. She'd been mesmerized and frankly a little surprised, she'd never seen Eyal so at ease and happy, he must have really enjoyed his time away from Mossad.

The scene outside his hotel flashed before her eyes.

_"Are you okay?" he asked carefully as he guided her towards the cab that he'd called._

_"I don't know Eyal," she answered truthfully._

_"It will be okay Neshama and you'll get your answers, I know you will." He said it all while looking into her eyes and it was as if though his words actually penetrated her soul. Before she knew it she was embracing him and he let her. Hearing the rhythmic sound of his heartbeats calmed her. And just as she was about to enter the cab, he'd carefully placed a kiss on her cheek._

Had things not been so stressful she'd been confused about the kiss she thought, but considering her situation; analyzing Eyal's intentions weren't her top priority. She heard voices coming from inside the house as she carefully opened the door.

"Annie!" Bashir called out, excitement in his voice. He was sitting at the kitchen table and even though Annie couldn't see the face of the man sitting with his back towards her, she knew that it was Ghannouchi, the man that had been out in the backyard with Bashir.

"Hi," she replied and offered a smile as she entered the kitchen area. She didn't see Malik or Nabila around but wasn't all that surprised, this was a business dinner. As she took in the giant spread on the kitchen table, all the different dishes her heart sank. She got the feeling this was intended as a "last meal" kind of thing, but she kept her smile plastered so as to not make them suspicious.

"You are just in time. Dig in!" Bashir said happily as he motioned to all the food. Ghannouchi stared at her with the same intensity that he had the first time. Since he didn't bother with pleasantries, she didn't either.

Throughout the dinner Bashir re-told her the plan and what was expected of her and she just nodded whenever he seemed to wait for her reaction, but she wasn't really listening. Instead she thought about Eyal, he should be quite close right about now, but it wasn't nearly close enough, she thought.

30 minutes later Bashir rose from his chair and said something to Ghannouchi, but whatever it was Annie didn't catch it. Ghannouchi seemed to agree, because he nodded and slowly rose from his chair and made his way out towards the hallway and a few seconds later he was gone. She gazed at Bashir but he showed no signs of explaining Ghannouchi's departure to her, instead he said.

"Go get ready; we will leave in a few minutes."

As she made her way towards her room to get changed she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. She made sure to close the door to her room carefully behind her before she reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone. It was a text message from Eyal letting her know that he was in position. Not exactly sure why, his message seemed to triggered the spy in her and immediately she kicked herself into action. She quickly changed into the comfortable clothes that Bashir had provided her with, she rummaged through her bag and found her passport which she expertly concealed with duct tape to the inside of her boot. Before leaving the room she made sure that she hadn't left anything behind that might be of value, seeing as there wasn't she took a deep breath, she was ready.

* * *

_"11.45 A.M."_ The watch announced. He'd only had a small yoghurt this morning and his stomach was growling. He decided that since it was almost noon it was a respectable hour to disappear for lunch, he reached for the small laser cane and rose from his chair. But just as he was about to head out the phone on his desk rang. He sighed, just his luck. He settled back down behind the desk, found the earpiece and answered.

"Anderson." The line was quiet, he thought that maybe it was Kelting calling with some sort of update, but realized that agent Kelting was somewhere over the ocean by now and wouldn't call yet in a few hours. "Hello?" he tried and felt irritation rise in his body, he was just about to hang up when he thought he heard something. After a few seconds he realized that it was sobs.

"Au- gh- ie," the female voice sobbed. It was Lindsay and as soon as he realized that the irritation was gone and his handler-mode set in.

"Lindsay, are you okay?" He asked gently but with a firm voice, trying to reach out to her.

"I- I- do-ho-n't h-kno-w..." she sobbed. He heard her clear her throat and when she continued she sounded more gathered. "I- I need your help Auggie."

He took a deep breath; he knew that he should follow protocol on this and alert both Joan and the police.

"Where are you, are you hurt?" He tried as he wanted to gauge the situation.

"Please...can you meet me?" She asked pleadingly.

He frowned; she hadn't denied being hurt and a lot of scenarios played before his eyes. He wondered if she was alone and where she was.

"Yeah, okay." He heard himself answer. She gave him an address and then the line went dead. _Oh my god, what am I doing? _He thought as he gathered his things and grabbed his coat and cane before heading out. On his way down he alerted the car service to come and pick him up by the entrance.

The air was chill and the temperature had dropped over the last few days, it must be about 49°F [9,4°C] he reasoned. He then heard the familiar sound of a car pulling up; he made his way over to the black Sedan.

"Hi Auggie," Clive, one of his regular drivers, said as he settled down in the back seat.

"Hi Clive," he replied.

"Where are you heading?" he asked.

"Shepard Street Northwest," he said and gave Clive a post-it with the full address on it.

Crestwood, he thought as the car pulled out. If he recalled correctly it was a family neighborhood, he wondered if Lindsay lived there with Paul or if it was her parents' house. If the house belonged to her and Paul, what was he going to find when he arrived? He sighed. He knew that what he was about to do was incredibly stupid, he shouldn't be doing Lindsay favors and frankly he wasn't sure if this could be considered a favor. He was keeping information that might be crucial from Joan and the Police, he remembered what Joan had told him at the hospital; that he wasn't to get involved but let the Police handle it. He scoffed.

When the car came to a halt he told Clive that he'd call if he needed to be picked up and that he shouldn't wait around. As he exited he took in the sounds of children and dogs barking; suburban bliss. As he heard the car drive off, he realized that he was a little stranded seeing as he couldn't tell the numbers on the houses and he wasn't sure which house he was supposed to walk up to. But suddenly he picked up a scent that was familiar.

"Lindsay?" he asked.

"Thanks for coming," she answered and he could tell that she was just a few inches from him now.

"No problem," he said trying to sound convincing. "But I'm not the best man to ask for help, you do know that I'm blind, don't you?" he quipped hoping to brighten the mood a little and to distract himself from the growing sensation that he was doing something he shouldn't. He felt her hand around his upper right arm and she guided him silently towards one of the houses.

"Are you okay?" he asked once they were stationed in what he assumed to be a living room.

"Yes..." she said, but he could detect hesitation in her voice.

"Lindsay, what happened?" He asked, worry seeping through his words.

"I wanted to kill him." She confessed bluntly, he was a little surprised but inched closer to her in order to show that he was there for her and not freaked out about what she'd just told him. After all he'd thought the same thing when he'd found out the truth about Paul.

"It's okay," he said in a hush tone.

* * *

"Here, I will help you." Bashir reached over to help her attach the microphone to the collar on her jacket. "It's just a precaution so that I can guide you," he said when he was done.

Annie had to keep a straight face and did the best she could, but inside her emotions were raging and she wasn't sure how this would play out. She prayed that everything was going well for Eyal and that he'd soon be there.

"The building should be empty, but sometimes they have guards on patrol because they still store things here." Bashir continued on, she just nodded in his direction, trying to keep her head in the game. "Are you ready," he added?

"Yes," she replied.

He did a last check to see that everything was working.

"See, now I can monitor you." He said sounding almost proud of himself as he nodded towards the screen in front of him.

She took a deep breath before she stepped outside the van, it was pitch black outside but she walked purposefully towards the building. Knowing that she was watched, she couldn't let it show that she was hesitant about doing this; after all she'd been the one to initiate this whole trip. But as she got closer to the building she wondered if it was worth it. She'd played Henry Wilcox, tricked him into thinking that she was cooperating with him, but maybe he'd been a step ahead of her all this time? As she reached the door she picked up a key that Bashir had given her, the door unlocked easily.

The halls were dark but she turned on the small flashlight that Bashir had equipped her with. _No bomb yet, _she thought. She recalled the instructions she'd gotten earlier, she was to walk down this corridor until it split and there she was supposed to take a left. Involuntarily the image of Auggie appeared in her mind, had this been a normal Op she'd be talking to him. She realized that Auggie was a huge part of her missions and the one person that could make her feel safe in situations like these, which wasn't the case at the moment. Bashir remained quiet and she wondered if he was still there, monitoring her. She wished that she could pick up her cell phone to check if Eyal had sent her a message. She took the left turn as instructed and continued, this corridor looked identical to the one she'd just walked through but at the end of this one she was to find a staircase and walk up to the second floor.

A rustling sound practically made her jump and she cursed under her breath, usually she was more leveled during missions. She quickly scanned the corridor with her flashlight raised, but didn't see anyone. As far as Bashir knew the flashlight was her only weapon. He'd told her that if she was to meet someone he'd help her talk her out of the situation. He'd promised her that the worst thing a guard would do to her would be throw her out on the street, but if she just said the things he'd tell her to say and drop some names, it wouldn't be all that dramatic. Upon being told this she'd even had the courage to ask him why he couldn't just walk into the building and get the file, but he'd told her that his ex-Mukhabarat status would be a problem in a place like this and the way he'd said it, she'd almost believed him. She found herself feeling relieved that she was armed, which was new to her; normally she didn't care for weapons all that much, they were just a safety precaution.

She reached the second floor and saw the dark, wooden door that Bashir had talked about, she was supposed to head into the room and there she'd find a gray steel cabinet which hosted all the files. She carefully opened the door; the room was dark and dusty. The steel cabinet was at the end of the room and she hurried over, unsure what she'd find in there; considering that she knew the file wasn't going to be. She fished out the second key that Bashir had given her and stuck it in the lock.

She quickly scanned the first drawer, there were indeed a lot of files in there but Bashir had told her that she'd find hers in the second drawer. She quickly closed the first one and opened the second, it was empty. She felt a chill down her spine as she realized that this was the moment when Bashir expected her to find out that she'd been tricked. She quickly spun around and there he was. Bashir was standing in front of her, covering the exit with a gun aimed at her head.

* * *

**A/N: **_So, what did you think? What's going to happen to Annie, will Eyal come to her rescue? And what's Auggie going to do with Lindsay? How far is he going to go for her sake? __**Please, review! It means the world to me.**_


	27. Chapter 27 - The Unsanctioned Op - Pt 3

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Yes, I'm well aware of the cliffhanger that I created in the last chapter. But lucky for you I managed to compile yet another chapter quite quickly this time. So don't fret, here goes the continuation of Lady Stardust. _I have also noticed a decline in reviews, I hope that you're all still reading and enjoying, please review it makes me want to write and feel inspired - it'd mean the world to me! Lots of love to you out there.

* * *

**Chapter 27  
**_The Unsanctioned Op - Pt. 3_

Annie's heart was pounding as she felt the gun muzzle against her forehead. Bashir had advanced quickly and expertly and before she even had the time to react, her own gun had ended up on the floor beside her. She had to admit that she'd underestimated him, these few days he'd seemed so gullible somehow but he was an agent and a skilled one at that. As her brain frantically ran through spy training protocol, she thought that maybe she still had a chance seeing as he hadn't shot her yet, maybe he was hesitating? Not that it seemed very likely. She tried to remember the hand-to-hand combat training that Auggie had taught her. The gun against her forehead, she recognized, was a Soviet manufactured Tokarev TT-33, 8 rounds, pistol. She remembered hearing that Iraqi insurgents had been found to use these types of old Soviet made guns.

"Annie Walker, I am quite sorry to kill such a beautiful woman. But we cannot have people like you digging around." His voice a mix of emotions; resentment and hate were most evident. She felt him press the gun muzzle harder against her forehead and she knew that she had to act, quickly! The next few things that happened, happened so fast that she barely comprehended it. She heard the sound of a gun being fired and she flashed back to the pain that had seared through her when Lena Smith had shot her, twice. She gasped. Then she felt strong arms around her that ushered her out of the room, while pressing her gun back into her hands. To her surprise she realized that the pain she'd just felt must have been in her mind, connected to her memory and she saw Bashir lying on the floor, blood oozing out from the back of his skull. She looked up and saw that he man helping her was Eyal; he'd saved her yet again. She felt hot tears trickling down her cheeks due to the sheer emotionality of it all.

"Sorry for being a little late, are you okay?" he asked as they ran through the building.

"Yes." She replied. As she tried to piece it all together, she thought about the rustling sound that she'd heard when she made her way to the room in the first place, the sound that had made her jump; it must have been Bashir walking away from the van. But she also remembered that she'd heard breathing sounds after that, so if that hadn't been Bashir, who was it that was manning the van now? She strained her ears trying to hear something as she ran, but couldn't make anything out.

"Eyal, I think that Ghannouchi's in the van." She said but she didn't get a reply so she kept running, without really feeling any sensation in her legs.

"We have to make it down to the exit I came in through," Eyal instructed which made her return her focus to the building and where they were running.

"He must've heard the gun shot; he'll know that Bashir's shot." She warned. "Did you get the file?" She added.

"Yes." Eyal said. "Come on now, we're almost there." He encouraged.

She saw the gray steel door at the end of the corridor; soon they'd be out; not that she knew what was waiting outside. She saw Eyal run through the door and she could feel the chill air hitting her face and she smiled. Then there was a deafening sound, exploding around her and as she felt a hot wave behind her she was plunged into the air. She no longer saw Eyal in front of her.

* * *

"You should talk to Joan, or the Police," he said. Her head was resting on his shoulder, an hour had flown by and they'd talked through it all, the voice mail that Paul had left her and the fact that she'd thought about killing him; which she hadn't.

"I know. I just needed to vent a little, this is all so weird. A few days ago I was sure that I'd spend the rest of my life with him." She said, her voice distant.

"I understand, trust me." He thought about Parker, how one day he'd thought that he'd marry her and the next day she was gone. "What time is it?" He asked.

"Just past two," she replied.

"Okay, well I should head back. Do you want to come with me?" He asked as he reached for his phone to call the car service.

"I guess I have to, it just feels so embarrassing somehow." She said and he could hear by the slightly decreased volume of her voice that she was most likely staring down at the floor. He found her knee and squeezed it carefully.

"Don't, please." He said. "You have _nothing _to be ashamed of, come on." He reached for her hand and they both stood up. "I'm gonna call the car service, do you need to get ready or anything?"

"I think that I'm ready, but I'm just gonna get a glass of water." She said and excused herself.

...

"What do I say?" Lindsay asked, as they entered the DPD together.

"Just tell her what you told me, it's not like she's going to lecture you, she'll be happy to see that you're okay. Trust me." He said confidently urging her forward. As she carefully made her way towards Joan's office and he could hear the hesitance in her walk; she'd changed over these last few days and he immediately felt sorry for all the things she'd gone through.

When he entered Tech-Op he was greeted by Barber.

"Was that Lindsay?" He immediately asked.

"Yeah, she's on her way to talk to Joan," he said with a sigh as he settled down behind his desk.

"What were you two doing together?" He asked and Auggie thought that he detected a hint of suspiciousness.

"She called earlier," he confessed. "She just wanted to talk Barber," he clarified.

"Is she okay?" Barber asked, worry lacing his words.

"No, but she will be. Go out and talk to her, I'm sure she'd appreciate it." Auggie said, encouraging Barber. He knew that Eric was a great guy and Lindsay needed someone to help her through this.

* * *

_December 9th  
Al Wasity Hospital, Baghdad_

_12.42 A.M. - local time_

Annie slowly opened up eyes, she felt disoriented and soon a splitting headache made her cringe. _Pain. _

_"Annie?" _

The voice was familiar, safe and she did her best to cling onto it but felt herself drifting away.

"Annie?"

The voice was louder and clearer this time and she tried to open her eyes yet again. As she carefully turned her head towards the sound she saw a blurry face that leaned in towards here.

"I'm here Neshama."

She smiled. _Eyal, _she thought.

"Thank you," she managed. But before she could say anything else he held out a straw towards her, immediately she felt her throat burn by the dryness inside it, she greedily sipped the water. A nurse came into the room and talked to Eyal, even though Annie understood that she was at a hospital, she had trouble piecing it all together, what had happened? It took a while before the nurse left her alone with Eyal again. "What happened?" She demanded, she could see him clearly now. He looked tired and had scrapes and bruises lining his face.

"You've been out for a while," he started. "Ghannouchi and Bashir had rigged a bomb inside, safety measure probably. It was just like you said, he must have heard me shoot Bashir and they wanted you dead..." He cringed. "But unfortunately for Ghannouchi he didn't realize that you weren't alone. I made it out faster than you, so I got away with a few scrapes and bruises. After the explosion I found my gun, made sure you were as well as could be expected, before I made my way to the van and took care of him..." His voice trailed off.

She knew how the story ended, so she didn't bother inquiring about that. She found his hand and squeezed it.

"You're always saving me," she whispered. His eyes met hers and he smiled a crooked smile towards her.

"I will always save you Neshama," he said sincerely.

"When can I get out of here?" She added after a moment of silence.

"You have a concussion, but you'll be fine. God, Annie you'd barely healed from your earlier escapades, and now this." He said disapprovingly.

"How did you know?" she asked surprised.

"The doctors examined you." He stated tiredly. "You know you scared me...you've been out since yesterday."

"I'm sorry..." she said apologetically.

"Annie, you should call Joan."

She nodded, even though she wasn't looking forward to telling her boss that she'd gone of the books for someone like Henry Wilcox, but it didn't matter anymore. She knew that she and Eyal weren't safe in Baghdad anymore and Joan was their only way out.

"Can you walk?" Eyal asked.

"Yes, I think so." She replied as she noticed that the pain had subsided slightly since the nurse had given her something for the pain.

"I'm going to check the hallway, to make sure that it's safe but then we have to go, it's not safe here." He said, voicing the concern she'd just thought about. Eyal walked over to the door and peered out into the hallway, he kept his back turned towards her the whole time, giving her some privacy as she undressed and stepped into the clothes she'd worn before, they were quite torn and it would make her stand out but she didn't have a choice. She quickly double checked her boot to see that her passport was still there; she exhaled as she confirmed that it was.

"Come on," Eyal said as she joined him at the door. He placed his coat over his shoulders to make her look more decent and they hurried through the corridor. The fact that the hospital was crowded was something they could use to their advantage as they slipped out. Outside Eyal hailed a cab effectively and told the driver the address to his hotel; it'd be the safest place for now.

* * *

He could feel the sun on his skin; he yawned and opened his eyes. _Darkness_. Sometimes when he awoke like this, feeling the sun, he thought that it'd be powerful enough for even him to see it. For the first time in days he'd slept all night, no shifting or turning, just blissful sleep. His watch told him the time and date: December 9th, 6.30 A.M., considering he'd been in bed before 8 P.M. the previous night, it didn't feel so early. Wearing his pajama bottoms he walked out into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, his step was light and he thought that maybe things were finally turning around.

...

He arrived at the DPD at 7.43 A.M. and walked over to Tech-Op, he was supposed to hear back from Kelting this morning with a progress report.

"Auggie?"

With a bright smile he turned towards the entrance.

"Lindsay!" He said enthusiastically. "How are you, did you recover from Joan's inquisition yesterday?" he quipped.

"Yes, I did it wasn't too bad and...actually, I am good!" She said and he wished for a brief second that he could see that smile that was so obviously on her face at the moment.

"So what happens now?" he asked.

"I have some mandated therapy sessions before they'll even consider me back in the field," her tone dropped a few octaves and he realized that she was scared, scared to be put aside as he had been.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll do just fine and besides, it's not like you've done anything wrong," he encouraged.

"Yeah, I guess. Well, Auggie...I- I just wanted to say thank you. I don't think that I would've ever gotten through this without you."

"I am your handler after all," he said with a smile.

"Did you get in trouble with Joan?" She asked a little hesitantly, "I mean, for not telling her where I was..."

"Nah, don't worry about that." He said.

"Oh, um...hi, Linds." Auggie smiled as he could hear Barber's voice, he was obviously a little nervous around her.

"Hi Barber!" She said, sounding genuinely happy to see him. "Do you want to grab lunch later on today?" She asked.

"Oh, um...lunch?" He stuttered. "Uh, sure. I, um...like food." He said. Auggie had to fight the urge to laugh at the whole scene and he was sort of glad that he couldn't see it.

"Good. I'll pick you up around noon then, I have to go talk to this therapist now." She said graciously, not showing any signs of acknowledging Barber's nervousness in the least. "I have to talk to Joan again too after the first session, we're going to discuss my desk work. Yay." She added in a mocking tone.

"Good luck," Barber managed.

"Thanks. Bye guys," she said and Auggie could hear her walk out.

"Oh...my, god. Was that as painful and weird as I thought it was?" Barber blurted out as soon as the sliding doors closed.

"No, no..." he begun, but couldn't resist adding, "It was worse." Barber responded with a scoff but he soon started laughing and within seconds they were both laughing.

He'd just gotten into a good work rhythm when Joan burst into Tech-Op.

"Auggie, I need you to come with me now." She demanded. He found his laser cane and immediately followed suit and as he walked out he could practically feel the stare that Barber gave him. Joan wasn't the one to show emotions like this, unless something was very wrong.

"Close the door," she said sternly as they entered her office. "I have to ask you Auggie, because I know that you and Annie are close. Yesterday, when I asked you if you'd talked to her, you said no. Was that the truth?"

The question took him by surprise.

"Yes, of course." He replied, "Why?" He added. He knew that Joan was upset and worried all at the same time and he realized that maybe something had happened to Annie. As the realization set in, he felt faint. Why hadn't he reached out to Annie more? He quickly debated in his head whether or not to mention Henry Wilcox to Joan, but before he could decide on the matter, Joan interrupted his thoughts.

"I just got confirmation that she's in fact in Baghdad." Joan spat out.

"What?!" He said angrier than he'd meant for it to come out.

"She's there with the assistance of Eyal Lavin; apparently she's gone off the books. I don't have all the details yet; she said that they needed a quick extraction and that she'd fill in the details later. Can you do it?" She said. By the tone he could tell that underneath all the anger, Joan cared and was worried about Annie and so was he.

"Yes, of course. I'll get right on it," he replied and turned to walk out of the office.

"Auggie?" She said before he reached the door. "When you've gotten them out of there, instruct Annie to come see me the first thing that she does!"

"Got it."

He hadn't told Joan anything about the file or Henry Wilcox, but he had a strong feeling that there was a connection. _Damn it, Annie! _He thought. But he knew that she'd gone there to help him, she must have figured out that the original file would be there. All of a sudden he felt touched by her incredible strength and courage, maybe she wouldn't have gone off books if he'd been more supportive of her. He sat down at his desk and started telling Barber where to begin as he put up a secure line to contact Annie on. His heart was beating fast as he waited for a reply.

"Auggie?" Was the first thing she said as she replied.

* * *

**A/N: **_So how will the extraction go? Will Annie be able to simply say her goodbyes to Eyal? Will Annie return to D.C.? What is Auggie going to do and what did Henry Wilcox actually know about all this? _Please **_review!_**


	28. Chapter 28 - The Extraction

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N:** _No, the action isn't over! There's still a lot ahead. This was quite difficult to write, seeing as I don't know much about extractions. But I tried to keep it accurate and spent the afternoon going over a Baghdad map, so at least I put a lot of effort into it. _I hope you'll like it!

* * *

**Chapter 28****_  
_**_The Extraction_

Her heart was pounding.

"Annie?"

Hearing his voice again was almost too much for her at the moment, she had to fight the tears that were threatening to spill over. Her emotions were all over the place. But she couldn't afford being sensitive at the moment, plus Eyal was sitting next to her and she didn't want it all to become weird.

"Hi," she quickly replied keeping her voice leveled and to her surprised she sounded normal. "We're staying at the AlMashbah Plaza hotel, what do you need us to do?" She said curtly.

"Eh...we're looking into it." Auggie replied and she could tell that he was a little taken aback by her tone, but he quickly recovered. "The best thing for you to do is to get to the Turkish border; we'll have an extraction team waiting for you there."

Annie put Auggie on speaker so that Eyal could hear the details too. After a little back-and-forth information swapping between Auggie and Barber, Auggie told them that their safest bet was to find a car and then make their way towards Karada Kharidge street and to follow the road down towards the 14th July bridge that crossed river Tigris.

"When you're on 14th of July Street continue on it north and onto Imam Al Husain Street, then make a left onto Musa al-Kadhim street then straight forward onto Uruba Square. After the roundabout continue and after five blocks, make a right turn and then follow that road to cross Muhit Street. Then just follow it along the river," Annie scribbled it down while Auggie talked.

Eyal who had disappeared from her side for a few seconds returned with a laptop and booted up Google Maps.

"Auggie we're gonna check Google Maps, hold on." She handed Eyal her notes so that he could find it on the map. "Okay, go on." She said.

"You'll see on the map that the small road will lead up to a bigger, from the city Khalis. Do you see it?"

"Yes." She confirmed pointing it out for Eyal.

"Good. I'd say that it's better if you head towards Khalis and down towards Baqubah from there just go north towards Miqdadiyah and eventually make your way towards Kirkuk and Mosul. It's safer that way, to go along the length of the Iraqi border, instead of through Samarra and Tikrit..." on the last word his voice faded and Annie felt her heart constrict as she realized how hard this must be for Auggie.

"Thank you Auggie," she said sweetly.

"Yeah, sure." He said his voice sounding a little coarse but he continued. "Mosul is a big city and should be easily bypassed. From there continue your way up towards the town Zahko." He stopped his narrative to give them time to follow him on the map. "From Zahko go west for about 14 kilometers, it's about as far you can go before you end up at the Syrian border," Auggie continued. "You should be able to access a small street called Ovaköy Köyü Yolu quite easily; do you see it on the map?"

Annie quickly scanned the map and found it, "yes, got it." She confirmed.

"Good. That road will take you over to the Turkish city Ovaköy and we'll have a team waiting for you there and they'll ensure that you won't get into trouble when crossing." Auggie finished.

"Okay, we got it. How long do you think it'll take?" She asked.

"If you're really effective and I mean _really_ effective, and if there aren't any problems along the way, you could make it to the border in a day." Auggie replied. "By the way, are you guys armed?" He added.

"Yeah, we are." She confirmed. The line was quiet and she figured that Joan was probably shooting Auggie a look at the moment and he was probably debating whether to ask her about the guns, but he didn't. They quickly ended the phone call instead and she turned to face Eyal.

"So do you think we can do this?" She asked.

"Annie, we're two trained spies, I think we're up for it, besides it's our only shot. I'm going to get a car, just stay put here." He demanded as he made his way towards the door. She wanted to protest at first, he didn't have to worry about her safety; she could take care of herself. But then she realized that she was extremely tired and her headache was returning.

"Sure," she replied instead. "Eyal?"

He stopped and turned around and as he did she walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered. He stroked her hair, but remained quiet. "By the way, how are you going to fix a car?" she asked, turning her gaze upwards.

"Just leave it to me," he said with a hint of smile then he was gone.

* * *

Was this really happening, he thought to himself as he collapsed in his chair; he pulled the earphones off.

"Good job," Joan said.

"Mmm..." he mumbled back, not sure what else to say. After Joan left for her office, Barber said.

"What just happened, what's Annie doing in Iraq?"

"It's a long story Barber," he said with a sigh. He pressed the button in his watch, which told him that it was 11.26 A.M. he calculated that it was 7.26 P.M. for Annie and Eyal. He rose from his chair and walked out to the rest rooms; he listened and was happy to notice that all the stalls were all empty. He leaned against the wall, feeling the cold tiles against his forehead.

_Annie what have you done? _He thought. He felt so stupid; all this time when he hadn't been able to reach her, she'd been in Iraq trying to help him out. He wondered if she'd managed to get her hands on the file, he'd wanted to ask her but couldn't seeing as Joan had been there the whole time. He was worried about Annie too, she'd sounded so distant over the phone and even if it was mostly due to the whole situation, he hoped that things hadn't changed too much between them. He wanted to be with her still, he loved her incredibly much. As he allowed himself to feel, tears started to form in his eyes. _I really do love you, Annie Walker. _He thought to himself.

. . .

Later that night Auggie was settled on his couch, he was thinking about Annie and their relationship, would they be able to salvage it? He hoped so. But then Eyal Lavin crossed his mind, how come he was there with her? Had they gone together or had he just happened to be there? He had to admit that he was a little jealous; Eyal always seemed to be the one to save Annie, her own private knight in shining armor. Sometimes he really hated being blind, he knew that if he hadn't been he would've taken the first flight out.

The rest of the day had been quite uneventful, at least compared to his phone call with Annie. Barber had gone on his lunch date with Lindsay and it seemed to have gone well. Joan also informed him that the Police had tracked Paul down, so he was in custody, which was relief. The last thing that had happened before he turned in for the night had been a call from Kelting reporting on his progress. Unfortunately things hadn't gone all that smooth for him but they still had a chance to get to Fournier if they were clever, plus France had sent an Agent to help Kelting out.

His landline interrupted his thoughts.

"Anderson." He replied.

"Hi Auggie," his brother said. He smiled.

"Hi Adam," he replied.

"Hey, I know that you're a big boy and everything and I don't want to be like mom, checking in on you all the time but I just wanted to see how you were doing. You dropped quite the bomb last time, what with the file and all, have you heard anything?"

"I know you don't want to be like mom, no worries, actually I'm glad that you called. It's been a hectic day to say the least." The words were pouring out, "I spoke with Annie today, first time in a few days and I- I just, I should've known that something was up. Anyway, turns out she's in Baghdad."

"Oh? I thought you said that she was on like a sick leave?"

"Yeah, she was supposed to," Auggie replied. "But she figured out that the file she showed me that had been all redacted must have an original somewhere so she used her sick leave to go on an Op off books..."

"Wow..." Adam said. "She must really love you. You know she did it for you, right?" He added.

"Yes, I know...although I don't know about her feelings anymore, I was rude and dismissive the last time we spoke and on the phone today she was all distant, but what she did...it's amazing. In fact, she never ceases to amaze me." He said.

"Oh, Auggie...of course she loves you, a person doesn't go to a country like Iraq to fetch some sort of secret CIA-file for someone who's just a friend." Adam said reassuringly and he wished that he could believe him, but Eyal crossed his mind yet again.

"Never mind, I'll see her soon enough she should be in D.C. late night on the 11th. I'll handle it all then. How about you, how are you and the family?" He asked.

They kept talking and he enjoyed it, plus it kept his thoughts from venturing further into the whole Annie and Eyal relationship. In Amsterdam he'd realized that Eyal had feelings for her too, maybe he had just been the lucky one seeing as he'd had the courage to voice his feelings for her, what if Eyal had done the same now? Considering his and Annie's falling out he was scared to think about what that could mean.

* * *

Annie was sitting in the passenger seat staring ahead at the almost empty road; Eyal was driving them through the pitch black Iraqi night. They'd thought about getting some sleep first and start their journey first thing in the morning, but neither one of them had felt tired so they'd figured that they might as well get on the road.

"Are you okay?" She tried, still with her gaze fixed on the road. Ever since she'd made the call to the Agency Eyal had seemed distant.

"Yes, I'm fine Annie." He replied, but she knew that he was lying. She sighed and leaned back into her seat. If he didn't want to talk she wasn't going to force him.

They were close to the bridge when Eyal motioned towards it.

"Seems like we have company," he said in a strained voice. Annie looked ahead to see a guard standing at the side of the bridge and she could feel her mouth go dry.

"What do we do?" Annie asked carefully, not wanting to irritate Eyal again.

Eyal drove up towards the bridge, probably hoping that the guard wouldn't mind them, but he started to wave for them to pull aside. Eyal turned the window down and started talking to the guard. Annie had trouble understanding it all, but picked out pieces here and there. It seemed as though Eyal tried to convince the guard that they had to go to a hospital. Now that they were closer Annie noted that the guard was very young, almost a boy, he looked confused as Eyal raised his voice and urged for him to let them pass and lucky for them he did.

"He might still notify someone," Eyal said as they reached the end of the bridge.

"What do you suggest we do?" She said as she turned around to see if she could make out the guard but he'd been swallowed by the darkness.

"He might have gotten the license plates, even though it was dark. Maybe we should try to switch cars." Eyal suggested.

"Do you really think we'll be able to do that?" She asked. Not even sure how Eyal had gotten his hands on their current car.

"I don't know." He began but then added "We'll keep on driving for a while longer, hopefully no one will care about us yet."

She just nodded and prayed that they'd make it out in one piece. But as she thought about leaving, about the extraction, she wondered what would happen to Eyal. Sure, she'd gone off books but hopefully she'd be able to win Joan over once she got back to Langley, but Eyal had gone off books without an Agency backing him at all. Plus she'd gotten the feeling - when Eyal had told him about his first couple of days in Greece - that he hadn't left things on a good note with Rivka. She gazed at him, she'd miss him.

"What is it?" Eyal asked. He must have noticed her staring. She blushed.

"I'm sorry, I- I'm going to miss you Eyal..." it came out almost a whisper and he seemed to cringe. Maybe it was their departure that was weighing Eyal down; she found his right hand and stroked it carefully. "What's going to happen to you?" She tried.

"I don't know Annie," he said seriously and her heart sank.

"Why did you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?"

"Come here, why did you agree to help me?"

"You asked, remember?" He spat out and now it was her time to cringe. She knew that she'd acted selfishly, asking him for help and now, in one way she wished she hadn't.

"I'm sorry..." she managed. Then she turned her head towards the window so that he wouldn't catch the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. _I hurt everyone I love, _she thought recalling Auggie's expression when she'd told him about the file.

"Neshama...Annie," Eyal breathed, "I'm sorry, it's not your fault I- I just...I heard it, in his voice. He was worried about you. Are you seeing him?"

"Who, you mean Auggie?" She asked.

"Yes, are you seeing him?"

She felt uncomfortable but she didn't want to lie to him.

"Sort of, I guess...but we didn't exactly leave things on good terms," she said bitterness in her voice. "He kind of hates me too." She added.

"Annie, I don't hate you." Eyal said tiredly but firmly. "It's quite the opposite," he snorted.

* * *

**A/N: ****_So what did you think?_**_ Please _**review. ****_What will Eyal tell Annie and will it affect her?_**


	29. Chapter 29 - Chaos Erupting

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Will Annie and Eyal make it to safety? How will Auggie handle the fact that Annie's in Iraq? I hope you're all curious, here we go!_

* * *

**Chapter 29  
**_Chaos Erupting_

_December 10th  
Washington D.C.  
Langley, CIA_

Due to the time difference, Auggie had stayed at Langley until 6 P.M. the previous night, when Annie and Eyal reported that they'd safely made it to a little town outside Baqubah. He'd wanted to stay longer but Joan had demanded him to go home and get a couple of hours of rest. She'd put Stu and Reva on duty instead to be there in case Annie and Eyal ran into trouble.

His brother had called to check in on him that night and even though he hadn't been tired at all after they'd hung up, he'd forced himself to sleep at least a few hours. It had been a few years since he'd been in the military, but some things stuck with him, such as going to bed and force yourself to sleep for at least an hour or so before getting up again. He'd managed to get about three hours of sleep before waking up again at 2 A.M.

"Hey guys, what's happening?" he demanded as soon as he entered the DPD at 3 A.M. He'd tried to stay away for as long as he could. It'd be 11 A.M. in Iraq and he figured that Annie and Eyal had continued their journey. "Guys?" He felt a chill run down his spine as neither Reva nor Stu seemed to want to answer his question and he immediately feared the worse. He was well aware of the obstacles that could occur in Iraq and just the thought of Annie in the Iraqi night made him cringe.

"Auggie, they ran into some trouble." Stu began.

"But they're fine now!" Reva immediately added. And even if it was only a mere second between the two sentences, he'd felt as though his heart had stopped beating.

"What happened?" he demanded as he settled down at his desk, firing up his computer.

Reva started telling him all about the pursuit of Annie and Eyal's car.

The 14th July Bridge and he reported their car to the local authorities in the area." She explained. He couldn't utter a word, but instead waited for Reva to continue.

"It got heated for a while and the pursuing car fired some shots, but none harmed them and after a few minutes Eyal managed to shake their tail - much thanks to Annie's quick directions. Then they ditched their car in a small dark alley and continued on foot for a while."

He gasped as he heard the "continued-on-foot"-part, he knew that it was extremely dangerous but he also knew that they would've been sitting ducks in that car.

"Did they find another vehicle?" He asked.

"Yes, Eyal managed to talk to an old man who agreed to sell them his car. They got lucky; the old man wasn't a particularly big fan of the authorities."

As he exhaled he realized that he'd been holding his breath.

"So what now?" he asked.

"The last we heard they were just outside Kirkuk and from there they'll head towards Mosul. Doesn't that mean that they're past the worst of it?" Reva asked hesitantly and he could tell that she was worried. He tried to shoot a smile in her direction but he didn't know if he managed to pull it off.

"Not really, Mosul is a big city which is a good thing. But if they're unlucky the word will have spread about them and the authorities there might be on the look-out. But hopefully, the local authorities might not have made such a big deal out of it; unfamiliar faces crossing Baghdad at nights are not as uncommon as you'd think..." he knew that he wasn't coming across as very confident but he hoped that it was enough.

"We told them to call in again when they reached Mosul." Stu said from his desk.

"Good." Auggie replied.

. . .

An hour after he'd gotten to the DPD Barber entered Tech-Op with two cups of steaming hot coffee.

"Here you go Auggie." Auggie stretched out his hand so that Barber could place the cup in his hand.

"Thanks Barber," he said. After that he and Barber said their goodbye's to their colleagues as Reva and Stu were about to head home to get some sleep.

"Auggie, here." He could hear Reva place a folder on his desk on her way out. "It's my report; just give it to Joan when she gets in."

"Sure, thanks. Good work guys." He replied.

The room fell silent. He could hear Barber walking over to thumb through the report.

"Man, trouble really does follow Annie, huh?" he exclaimed after a few minutes.

"Seems like it..."

"Are you okay?" Barber asked carefully.

"No, no I'm not Barber..." he said exasperated.

"I know you care about Annie, but we'll get her back! She's going to survive this; you know she will. She's tough!"

"So is Iraq," he spat out and Barber immediately went quiet. "I- I'm sorry..." he began; he didn't want to take it out on Barber.

"No, hey it's okay." He said reassuringly.

They both continued to work separately and quietly. And then about two hours later the silence was cut by the shrill tone of the phone on Auggie's desk. He flinched in his chair, but quickly pressed the button on his earpiece.

"Annie, talk to me." He said, worry evident in his voice, but he didn't care.

"Auggie!" She said and this time she seemed happy to hear his voice and it felt almost normal; just the way it used to be between them, if only for a second.

"How are you?" He asked.

"We're good. We're good. We just reached Mosul and while we've spotted some local authorities they don't seem to mind us." Annie said over the phone.

"Good, that's great. Let's see, hold on." He turned to Barber and asked if he'd gotten a trace, so that they could follow Annie and Eyal's new car. After a minute he added. "Okay Annie, we've got a trace on the phone call now, so that we'll be able to guide you more efficiently."

"Thank you," she said.

"Just don't make a stop anywhere, okay? It'll be too risky if any of you are seen outside, especially you Annie seeing as you're blond and fair-skinned." He instructed.

"Don't worry, I won't. But I do have a shawl..." she added.

"While that might help, just don't step out of the car if you don't have to, alright?" He said, almost begging.

"I promise," she said gently. It was quite for a few seconds before Annie said "Okay, but since you have our location now, I should hang up so that I don't run out of batteries."

He nodded but realized that she couldn't see that.

"Of course. Call again when you've reached the bridge over to Ovaköy, that'll be our last correspondence before the extraction team will take over." He continued in a more professional manner.

"Will do. Thank you Auggie."

He smiled, genuinely this time.

"Always." He replied. "Be careful Walker." He added. He didn't want to say too much seeing as he knew that Annie had to concentrate and also because Barber was in the room.

"Always." She replied before hanging up.

* * *

As she hung up the phone she turned her head towards the window and a small smile crept across her face. She'd never thought that hearing Auggie's voice would have such an impact on her at the moment, but when he'd answered she'd immediately felt safe. No disregard to Stu or Reva, they were both excellent but they just weren't Auggie.

"You really do love him." Eyal stated from the driver's seat. She turned her head, peering at him. She recalled their previous conversation that had taken place just before they'd paused for the night.

_"Annie, I don't hate you." Eyal said tiredly but firmly. "It's quite the opposite," he snorted. _

_"What do you mean?" she said._

_"Do I really have to spell it out for you?" Eyal said with a sigh._

_Goosebumps appeared on her arms and she could feel her cheeks flush scarlet._

_After that they'd found a place where they could park the car and get a few hours of sleep; they'd each take turns. They'd just left their conversation at that, but she knew what he'd meant. In the morning she'd taken the wheel for a few hours before Eyal took over yet again; claiming he knew how to drive on these roads and they hadn't said another word about their conversation._

"Yes I do..." she said truthfully, even though she'd put her feelings for Auggie on ice during these last couple of days, she knew that what she'd just said was true; she did love him.

"I'm happy for you Annie." He said but she couldn't tell if he was being ironic or if he really meant it. But she found his hand and squeezed it and as she did she could feel tears in her eyes. She loved Eyal too, just not in that way. He'd always be special to her and she'd always be indebted to him for having done this, she just hoped that he knew that too or that she'd be able to explain it to him sometime; but she knew that now wasn't the time.

"Eyal?" she said 20 minutes later, her voice shaking ever so slightly. "Do you see that car?" She turned around in her seat to take a peek at the car closing in behind them. "Do you think it's following us?"

Eyal looked in the rearview mirror.

"I first saw the car a couple of minutes back, so yes maybe..."he said. He shot another glance at the car. "It seems to be a civilian car though," he added.

She found her gun and held it tightly. The car behind them made no effort to close in though, it kept its distance.

"We're about halfway to Zakho; hopefully we'll be able to shake the car off there." Eyal said as he accelerated slightly, but they had to be careful since the roads weren't all that good.

"Maybe it's someone who worked with Bashir..." Annie began but didn't finish her sentence.

Eyal was a good driver, he'd expertly shaken their previous tail but it seems as though however was behind them now was equally good. Annie could feel her heart race.

"We're just gonna have to try and make it to the bridge, call Auggie and let him know that we have a tail." Eyal demanded.

She nodded and with one hand she dialed the number while clutching her gun in the other.

"Auggie, we have a tail." She said as soon as she heard him answer; she put him on speaker while he barked orders to Barber.

"Okay, just continue towards Ovaköy, we'll let the extraction team know so that they're ready to engage if you're still being followed as you cross the border. Unfortunately they can't help you before you cross..." his voice faded and Annie swallowed.

"How far is it?" Eyal asked.

"You should be about 10 miles, sorry 16 kilometers out." Auggie said over the phone. Annie couldn't help but smile, Auggie had quickly realized that Eyal, being from Israel didn't use the imperial system, but the metric system.

"Okay, that means about 10 minutes out if I can keep up this speed..." Eyal calculated out loud.

They all fell silent, just keeping their fingers crossed. Annie glanced behind her every few seconds but the car was still there, still keeping the same length. _What was the chance of the car just heading to one of the small villages? _Annie thought to herself.

A few minutes later they left the big road they'd been going on and onto the smaller: _Ovaköy Köyü Yolu _that would take them towards and over the bridge. Annie's heart was beating so rapidly and with such intensity that she was sure that even Auggie could hear it over the phone. Eyal had to slow down, seeing as the roads here were extremely narrow. As the slowed down, Annie noticed that the car behind them wasn't slowing down as much, but seemed to be gaining on them.

"Eyal..." she started but didn't manage to finish her sentence.

"I know." He said firmly.

Just when Annie saw the bridge ahead she heard a shot being fired. She screamed as she hadn't been prepared for it. Eyal gunned the car forward and the dust on the road swiveled up around them making it hard to see, but it was their only chance. Another shot was fired. Annie thought about leaning out the window trying to respond, but decided against it. Instead she nailed her gaze forward, praying they'd make it over the boarder safely. Another scream emanated - and she wasn't sure if it had come from her - as their rear windshield shattered. They both leaned forward in their seats, Eyal as much as he could while driving. The dust started to settle and they could see that they were on the bridge, the other car had lagged behind, probably due to the dust but now it was quickly gaining again. Even though the dust hadn't completely settled they heard it, a noise that was so welcomed that Eyal even burst out laughing; it was a chopper, they'd made it. When the dust had settled they saw the extraction team and the car behind them seemed to be gone, maybe it had turned around.

"We made it," Eyal said as their car had been guided to safety. Eyal was looking at her with a bright smile, it was the happiest she'd seen him since she'd contacted the Agency. She smiled back, equally happy. As they exited the car a man came towards them.

"Annie Walker?" He asked.

"Yes," she said.

"I'm agent Dunne, with the CIA. We're glad to see that you're okay." He said in a tone that didn't sound particularly happy, but he offered her a half-smile.

"We have a medic over there," he said and pointed towards a man standing by an armored ambulance. "Please, we need to make sure you're both okay." He said.

She nodded and together with Eyal they walked over to the medic to get checked out.

"Agent Walker?" Agent Dunne came up to her with a small sat. phone in hand. "You have a call," he said as he handed it to her.

_Oh, Auggie! _She thought as she recalled that they'd been on the phone with him when the chaos had erupted just before the bridge.

"Auggie?" she asked.

"Annie?!" He exclaimed.

"We're okay," she assured him before he had the chance to say anything else.

"I- I heard gun shots and then the...the call was cut off," his voice was strained and she could tell that he was fighting whatever emotions coursed through his body at the moment. She felt sorry for him and wished that she could be there to assure him that she was fine.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I'm okay. We're getting in one of the armored station wagons, they're taking us to a landing strip and from there we're on the first flight to the US." She encouraged.

"I miss you Walker..." he said barely audible and she felt touched and she realized that she'd missed hearing that as well as him.

"I miss you too." She replied.

"Call when you land." He said firmly.

"But-" she began, but he cut her off.

"It doesn't matter what time it is Walker, just call, okay?"

"I will," she promised.

She hung up and walked towards Eyal who was standing, leaning against the off-white Otokar.

"You ready?" She said with a smile. But to her surprise he didn't reciprocate, instead he took her hand and squeezed it.

"Neshama, I'm not coming with you." He stated matter-of-factly, not taking his gaze off of her.

"What do you mean you're not coming with me?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"These agents, this extraction team are for _you_. I'm not with any Agency, remember? But I still got offered a way to one of the local airports; I'll fly out through them. I'll get a ride, so don't worry." He said.

She could feel hot tears streaming down her cheeks, she wasn't sure what she'd expected, but this wasn't it.

"I'm not ready to say goodbye," she said honestly.

"Well, that's your choice," he said.

"That's not fair..." she began, but realized that she shouldn't be the one complaining.

"I know it isn't," he said cupping her face. "We might see each other again Neshama, please, take care." His voice sounded thick.

"We have to." She said with a hint of desperation in her voice.

He hugged her as she started sobbing.

"I love you Annie, I always will..." he whispered, he then placed a kiss onto the top of her head before he turned around to walk away.

Annie was frozen in place feeling lost and disoriented. _What just happened? Why did he always get the last word? _

"Agent Walker?" Agent Dunne was by her side. "We're ready to go." He clarified.

* * *

"Wow. That was intense." Barber said as he and Auggie walked out of the DPD, they had just finished briefing Joan and were now done for the day. It was already 4 P.M. and Auggie's body was tired, but his mind was still going high-speed.

"That's an understatement," he replied. "Any plans for the night?" Auggie requested.

"Oh, that's right! I forgot. When you went to the bathroom before we briefed Joan, Reva called seeing as she wanted an update on Annie and when I told her that everything had gone well she suggested that we'd celebrate at Allen's, are you up for it?"

Auggie smiled at his coworker's ability to talk without even stopping in the middle to take a breath.

"Of course, it sounds really good actually." He responded.

"Good. And since you're coming we can take the car service, instead of walking in the cold." Barber said contently.

"Oh, so that's why you wanted me to come with you," Auggie said in a mock tone.

"Yeah, pretty much." Barber said with a huge grin.

* * *

**A/N: **_So what did you think? What will happen to Eyal, is he out of the story? Will Annie and Auggie get their reunion? Did she make the right choice? And what about Henry Wilcox and the file? And all of you Annie and Auggie fans out there, I hope you're a little more pleased now that I've written some emotional "scenes" featuring them in this chapter. Please_ **review** _and let me know!_


	30. Chapter 30 - On Safe Ground

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: **_Hi guys, sorry for not updating sooner. But here goes, chapter 30! Annie and Eyal parted, what's going to happen next?_

* * *

**Chapter 30  
**_On Safe Ground_

She'd tried to get some sleep, after all her whole body had signaled that it needed it, but she hadn't been able to so far. Everything had happened so quickly towards the end and Eyal had been there one second and gone the next. She swallowed, she felt lost and also a little angry with herself. She hadn't even asked him what had happened at Bashir's house, how everything had gone. She made a mental note of calling him - not that she had very high hopes of reaching him - to sort things out. She hadn't meant for it to end like this, for them to part so abruptly and while she was happy to be on her way home, it felt weird. She clutched the file that she'd been holding in her hand for the last hour; she hadn't looked through it, not that she felt like she really had the energy to handle whatever was in it anyway, but she also thought that this was something that Auggie should go through by himself.

Annie wrapped the loaned jacket closer to her body, her own jacket had gotten torn in the explosion but she reached for it to grab her phones. For a second she hoped that Eyal had left her a message or something, but nothing. For the first time in days, Annie switched on her own phone and within seconds a bunch of notifications appeared. Her heart started beating faster as she saw that Auggie had tried to reach her and that he'd sent her a text message asking her where she was and that he was sorry about how he'd left things. She couldn't help but smile a weak smile, she missed him. Danielle had called once and left a voice mail, Annie quickly dialed out to listen to it.

_Hi Annie, it's me, where are you? Weren't you supposed to be at home, resting? Well, who am I kidding you weren't able to lie still when you were sick as a kid either. I guess you're out saving the world or something. Please call me back when you can, I miss you and I love you. The girls send their best. Bye!_

She listened to it three times, the sound of her older sister's voice brought tears to her eyes. She smiled. But as she scrolled through the incoming calls, she realized that Henry Wilcox hadn't left her a single message even though she hadn't checked in with him at all since she'd left for Iraq. Maybe that was a sign of his involvement she thought, or maybe he'd been fed faulty intel on her safety from Bashir.

Annie sighed, she had so many questions that she wanted answers to, but she didn't know where to start.

Her head felt heavy and she decided to rest her eyes for a little while. Even if she was on a private plane, non-stop towards D.C. she knew that she wouldn't touch ground in hours; she might as well try to get that sleep.

* * *

Auggie let out a moan as he got out of bed the next morning. While he was excited, knowing that Annie would return that night, he was also slightly hungover from the night before. He slowly made his way to the kitchen; he was in dire need of coffee. As he made himself a cup he leaned against the kitchen island. It was quite early and he knew that he needed to get started on work; he had a check-in with Kelting at 9.00 A.M. and then some diagnostics to run. He ran a hand through his wispy hair and knew that he was in need of a shower too. As he put the coffee cup down in the sink and made his way towards the bathroom he was happy that no one expected him to look presentable yet in a few hours. Joan had basically told him last night to stay at home today, seeing as Annie and Eyal's extraction had been quite intense and with the long debrief that had followed he'd been happy to oblige. He had a haunch though as to why Joan had suggested that he'd stay home, instead of just coming in later; she wanted to prepare for her interrogation of Annie and to be honest he was happy not to be close by any of those preparations. He immediately flashed back to how the Agency had treated Annie when they'd been convinced that she was a traitor and while no one was pointing fingers at Annie yet, he knew that Joan was really upset about Annie's unsanctioned mission.

As he began to undress in the bathroom, he wondered how Annie would explain the whole thing to Joan and guilt settled in. He of course, knew the real reason why Annie had gone to Iraq but he doubted that Annie would tell Joan the whole truth at least not immediately, but maybe that depended on the file. He wasn't even sure she'd gotten to it; they hadn't had the chance to talk just the two of them. He sighed as he knew that there was nothing he could do to save Annie from Joan's interrogation. He stepped into the shower, the hot water calmed him and he smiled as he recalled the celebration at Allen's the previous night.

_"Auggie!" Reva exclaimed as he made his way over to their table with a beer in hand. "I'm glad it all worked out," she said more calmly as he settled down._

_"Me too." If only they knew exactly how much it meant to him, that everything had turned out well for Annie, he thought._

_"What did Joan say?" Stu asked curiously._

_"Well, she grilled us a little; she wanted to see if we'd figured out what Annie was doing over there." Barber replied. _

_"Did you, I mean figure it out?" Reva asked._

_"Nope, nothing. It was too chaotic to have the time to fish for information." Barber explained._

_Auggie leaned back in his chair, content with his life: He had great co-workers, Annie was safe and he'd been able to help Lindsay out._

_"Barber, how did it go with Lindsay?" He asked with a teasing tone. Payback he thought, as he recalled Barber's earlier quip about him and the car service. It had the desired effect; Barber immediately blushed, but then told them that everything had gone well and that they were seeing each other later that week for lunch._

_"I'm happy for you Eric," he offered. _

_"Thanks Auggie." He said with a huge grin on his face._

A half hour later he was deeply engaged in a conversation with Kelting about the developments in Prague. Things were starting to look up and Auggie thought that both Annie and the Agency could need this win.

* * *

It was something that she'd dreamt, but she couldn't remember what it was. As soon as she blinked open her eyes, the dream was gone and she was left with an unsettling feeling. She looked around and spotted Agent Dunne; he'd settled down in one of the seats and was digging into a sandwich in front of him.

"Did I wake you?" He asked, but he barely made eye contact with her and she realized that he was only extending courtesy.

"No-" she began but he interrupted her.

"Are you hungry?"

"Um, yes I guess..." she said realizing that she hadn't eaten in hours and her stomach tightened at the thought of food. Before she had the chance of asking him anything else a woman materialized by her side with a tray in hand.

"Here you go Agent Walker." She said offering her a crystal white smile. Annie smiled back.

No one said anything and Annie thought that since they still had a few hours to go before they landed, she might as well try to start up a conversation, or at least try to gauge some information about the whole thing. "So I guess Joan sent you?" She asked casually.

"No. I report to Arthur Campbell." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh." She said, not knowing what else she could say. When she'd gone on this unsanctioned Op she'd figured that there would be consequences if someone found out, but she hadn't really thought they would. She'd also known that what she was doing was risky and maybe even wrong, at least from the Agency's point-of-view. But she realized now that she'd never really thought about what this unsanctioned Op would mean for the Agency if they found out. What she'd done was bigger than Joan and the DPD. She felt queasy knowing that Arthur Campbell was involved and wondered how much had he figured out. She thought about the file and his name at the end of it, she shrugged. What she'd done, she'd done to protect someone she loved, someone who deserved to get some answers. She wasn't sorry and she'd do it again in a heartbeat. She had to admit though; she was worried about how Joan would take it. Their previous rough patch had finally ended and Annie wanted nothing more than to stay in her good graces.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Agent Dunne mumbling something to himself.

"I'm sorry, did you say anything?" She asked carefully. This time she got his attention and he looked over at her, giving her a weird look.

"You really just go off with your own agendas..." it was practically a mumble but she heard it.

"What do you mean?" she asked, a little harsher than intended.

"Well, it was your own interest with Simon Fisher that got you into trouble, you got the whole Agency to think that you were a traitor, isn't that right?" He asked sternly. "And when you got cleared for duty again you got yourself involved with a Mossad Agent and now this..." he finished.

She was a little surprised by how much he knew but she just sighed in response, she didn't feel like she had another fight in her, she was too tired and frankly this man - whoever he was - wasn't worth it. She turned her gaze towards the airplane window. In her head she started running through what she'd tell Joan when she got back to Langley, but she was well aware that that wasn't the only conversation she needed to have when she landed.

* * *

He couldn't believe how fast a day could go by, granted it was still quite early but hours had gone by while he'd been engrossed in work. He'd been productive and he decided that he deserved a break. It was almost dinner time and he hadn't even eaten lunch or breakfast come to think of it and as soon as he thought it, his stomach started growling. He went over to the docking station, picked up the phone and called the Pizza place down on the corner.

A half hour later he'd just taken the first bite of the steaming hot and delicious Pizza. He'd settled down in front of the TV and while it wasn't nearly as fun to only hear the movie, he enjoyed it. He'd chosen one of his favorites that he knew by heart and he could still remember most of the scenes, how they looked. He wondered if Annie would remember to call him when she landed, she'd probably be ushered straight to Langley so he knew that his chances of actually speaking to her today were slim, but he was still hoping.

His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone.

_"Lindsay Hanson calling" _the mechanical voice called out. He expertly followed the sound, found the phone and answered.

"Hi Lindsay," he said.

"Hi Auggie, I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"No, I'm just glad you called. How are you?"

"I'm good and you sound good too." She said happily and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I am actually." He said honestly.

"That's great. I- I don't want to overstep or anything, but Barber told me that Annie and Eyal got in some kind of trouble, of course he didn't share any details but I just wanted make sure that you're okay." She explained and he felt touched by her concern for him.

"I'm alright but thank you for your concern." He offered.

"Good, since I know you care about her." She said and he was momentarily stumped by her statement.

"Eh, um..." he began but didn't know what to say, first of all he wasn't sure whether Annie would want him to divulge anything and secondly he wasn't sure if there was anything between them any longer and thirdly, he felt stupid for even debating whether to say anything seeing as Lindsay had shared so much with him, putting her trust in him.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything," she said calmly. "It's none of my business and I didn't mean to pry, I just- I understand that it must be difficult for you, both of you."

"I guess," he said uncertain if that was saying too much. "Well, thanks for calling, I really appreciate it. Say hi to Barber from me." He wrapped it up.

"Will do, take care Auggie. Good night."

"Night."

As he hung up he thought that maybe others would pick up on him and Annie too, once she was back at the Agency. So far they hadn't worked together all that much at Langley since they became a couple, seeing as Annie had gotten injured so quickly. He recalled Lindsay's file, she'd done a gig with "psych eval." a while back, so maybe they weren't as transparent as she'd made them out to be. He remembered that he and Annie had discussed it briefly, but that they weren't quite ready to bureaucratize their relationship just yet. He wondered what Joan would say when and if they told her, he wasn't even sure that Annie would want to get back together with him after everything that had happened. He was tired of thinking about it, but he couldn't help it.

* * *

Her legs were shaky as she stepped off the plane, the cold air hit her, but she just smiled. She was home, on safe grounds, finally. With her hands wrapped around her waist, to keep the jacket close, she hurried towards the black Sedan parked at the hangar.

"Agent Walker, you'll ride in the back and we'll escort you to Langley." Agent Dunne said, his tone short. As soon as he'd finished his sentence he made a call, he was probably reporting that they'd landed and that he'd be bringing her in. Her stomach was in knots and she wasn't sure what to expect. As the car sped through the cold December night, she glanced out and smiled again as she took in the familiar surroundings.

She was escorted into the building, Agent Dunne leading the way. She shot a glance towards him as he pressed a button in the elevator, it wasn't the DPD floor, she was being sent directly to Arthur Campbell and surely Joan would be there waiting too. She swallowed. When they arrived outside of Arthur Campbell's office Dunne placed a firm knock on the door and then stepped aside, suddenly she felt vulnerable and wasn't sure how she was supposed to behave.

"Come in." She heard Arthur's voice coming from behind the doors.

She pushed down the door handle and walked in, trying to keep her head high. To her surprise Agent Dunne seemed to stay behind and while she was happy to be rid of him, she felt alone. Arthur was standing in front of his desk and Joan was standing beside him. Joan met her gaze and Annie tried desperately to analyze it, was she mad? What was going to happen?

"Annie, please sit." Arthur said, motioning to a chair. He positioned himself in a chair opposite her and Joan leaned against the desk. "I'm just going to get straight to the point." He added.

She nodded.

"Okay, why-" he began but stopped short. "Why don't you start by telling us what you were doing?" He demanded.

"After Jai's star ceremony," she began hoping that this would have the intended effect she hoped for. "I went back to the DPD to collect my things and on my desk was a note, left anonymously. It said to come to Vespa that night." She saw how Joan arched her eyebrows in disbelief. "Well, I wanted to check it out," she continued, "and there was Henry Wilcox."

"Henry Wilcox?" Now it was Arthur's turn to arch his eyebrows, he practically spat out the name and his gaze grew even more intense. "What did he want?"

"He said that he thought that Jai was murdered because he got too close to something." She said trying her best to keep her voice leveled.

"Too close to what?" Joan intervened, it was the first thing she'd uttered and Annie looked up to her boss.

"He gave me a file that he claimed to be legit. I couldn't believe it but I wanted to be sure, that's what I was doing in here at the beginning of the month..." she said, a little embarrassed. Remembering how she'd lied to Joan about changing her computer password.

"And was the file legit?" Joan asked, her voice as stern as ever.

"It seemed like it, but there was a lot of stuff that had been redacted, names for example..." as she said the last part she paid close attention to Joan and Arthur, trying to gauge any reactions but if they knew what she was referring to, they didn't show it.

"Annie, what was in that file?" Arthur demanded.

"A lot of stuff to act on and Henry Wilcox suggested that I'd do that and I thought that by doing that I could get closer to Henry Wilcox, I never did trust him. So I gained his trust with this Op and went with it." She said convincingly and this time both Joan and Arthur reacted, they exchanged looks and Annie could tell that this wasn't something they'd expected.

"So what happened?" Joan asked.

"We realized that to be able to see the redacted names we needed to get to the original file, which we traced to Iraq." She answered.

"So, let me get this straight. You tried to handle Henry Wilcox, gain his trust with this unsanctioned Op and when he tells you to go to Iraq you just go?!" Arthur spat out.

"Both yes and no, I did it to get some answers for a friend too." Annie added, this time she looked down on the ground. She didn't want say anything else and she had a feeling Joan would figure out who this friend was now that she'd mentioned the 'friend'-part.

"Annie, you have to tell us exactly what was in that file!" Joan demanded.

Annie took a deep breath and realized that she had to. She didn't know what she'd expected, maybe that they'd get fed up with her attitude and chalk it up to her being tired and then send her home to get some rest and pick it up tomorrow. But they weren't letting it go and she knew that she was out of options.

* * *

Auggie pressed the button on his watch, it was soon midnight and he realized that he'd have to wait to talk to Annie. She'd call whenever they'd let her, he sighed and hoped that they weren't too hard on her. He rose out of the couch and was about to head to bed, when he remembered that he hadn't checked his email all day, he quickly went over to his computer and opened up his email client. He had five new emails, the computer read the names of the senders and after four names it said _"Sender, Annie Walker" _and he immediately clicked on it. He moved his fingers over the Braille keyboard to get some additional information about the mail and it turned out that it had been written a few days ago, he quickly did some math in his head and realized that she'd written it before she left for Iraq and that she must have put in today's date as delivery date. He pressed a few buttons, plugged in his earphones and settled back in his chair to listen to Annie's email:

_Dear Auggie,_

_I'm not completely sure of my intentions with this email. I guess since you're not talking to me now, I needed to reach out to you somehow. First, let me say that I'm So sorry! I never meant to keep secrets from you, I know that I did but I was just trying to protect you and I didn't want to read you in before I had more information to go on. It must have been really hard for you to hear about the file and I want to help you out, and yes I'm aware that I don't Have to, but I Want to, okay? And I know that you're not asking me for help and I know that you're perfectly capable of getting answers yourself, but I love you and I want to help._

_Let me just go back in time for a little while.  
When you came over to Danielle's house after the Op in Amsterdam, what happened that night, it might be the best night of my life. I finally acknowledged all those feelings that I knew I had for you. I love you Auggie._

_I didn't handle myself very well with the whole Henry Wilcox thing, but we both know about him being resourceful to say the least and I didn't want to get you involved with that. And I know that you thought that I was defending him when I chose to believe in that file and what was in it, but trust me I will Always be on your side. No matter what. It wasn't about choosing Henry's side of things, I just wanted to make sure that what was in that file was Wrong, because I didn't want to believe it either .I never believed in him really, when I met him - that first night at Vesta - I was immediately doubtful but I thought that maybe I could handle him like I do an asset, try to gain his trust and get information from him because I couldn't be sure that he wasn't in the picture somewhere too._

_All I ever want is for you to get some answers. That's why I'm doing this. Not because I want to find dirt on Joan and Arthur, not because I trust Henry Wilcox but because I love you and I just feel that, if you going blind weren't purely an accident, you should know the truth. Maybe I'm just dredging up bad memories now, and I'm sorry for that. But I thought I'd send you this email, mostly because I don't want to lie anymore but also because I'm not sure how this will all end. I don't want to sound too dark...but I just needed to make sure you got this. _

_I love you, Auggie Anderson. Thank you for Everything that you've done for me. I'll be forever grateful._

_/Annie Walker_

* * *

**A/N: **_So guys, what did you think? _**Please give me your feedback by writing a review. **_I hope that you're still reading and enjoying my story!_


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